A New Breed
by N4vyRu1es
Summary: Five years after the defeat of the Red Death, Dragons have gotten along well with viking life. Hiccup has spent most of his time dealing with small problems that have arisen with life with dragons. When a neighboring country asks for help, both their worlds will set aside their different to confront the most dangerous breed of dragons any of them has ever faced.
1. Chapter 1

**AN***

**First Brave/How To Train Your Dragon fanfic. Hope you all enjoy. Characters aren't written with accents because i don't want to murder anyone's language. Maybe in a latter fanfic of this I will. Until then. R&R!**

Chapter 1

Welcome to Berk

_ This is Berk. It's twelve days north of Hopeless, and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death. It's located solidly on the Meridian of Misery. It snows nine months out of the year and hails the other three. Any food that grows here is tough and tasteless. The people that grow here are even more so. The only upside are the pets. While other places have ponies...or parrots...we have...dragons..._

A group of young vikings walked along a narrow path and entered a large arena like structure with a large cage covering it. The arena used to be used for dragon training and killing, but has now been repurposed. Welcome to Hiccups Dragon Riding Training Academy. "Anyone know where Hiccup is?" A blond teen asked. She was roughly 17 and had metallic shoulder pads on either shoulder. She had a red shirt on that was tucked neatly into a skulled belt and skirt. Her name was Astrid Hofferson. One of the bravest and strongest Viking in Berk, and she was still only a teen. A tall blonde male spoke next.

"Can't we just take a break? We've been doing a lot of work already and I'm done." His shoulders slumped as he looked towards the others for support. He wore a fur vest that exposed a light green tunic. Both his arms were wrapped in a green wrapping that started at his wrists and stopped at his elbow. A dragon tooth hung from his neck and a double horned helmet rested on his head. Tuffnut Thorston was his name and he is one of the most mischievous and masochists persons you could ever meet. He was only rivaled by his twin sister for his knack for pain.

"Like what Tuff? You've been sitting and sleeping all day. We're the ones that have been working." A tall blonde said. Her name was Ruffnut Thorston, Tuffnuts sister, twin to be exact. She was taller then Astrid, but she slouched a lot so it didn't appear like it. She wore a greenish tan vest and skirt with a blue shirt. Like her twin, she had a dragon tooth around her neck and a double horned vikings helmet, though the horns were slightly longer than her brothers. If pain had a physical form, it would be the Thorston twins.

"My eyeballs get tired ok!" Tuffnut replied turning to face Ruffnut on his right.

"Why don't you make your name proud and TUFFen up?" Ruffnut replied rolling her eyes and softly chuckling at her own joke.

Tuffnut didn't get it though and looked at her with a confused expression. "I don't get it. What's Tuff have anything to do with tough?" He looked around at the others to see if they got it, which they did.

"Your an idiot you know that?"

"Eh. Runs in the family. How else do we explain your remark?"

"Why you..."

The Thorston twins could turn a simple sentence into a full on argument. Which usually escalated into a brawl that involved someone in the group to break up. Which was the case now as the pair rolled around on the floor kicking, punching, and biting. Which Tuffnut personally experienced as Ruffnut latched onto his arm with her teeth. Reacting on instinct, Tuffnut grabbed a handful of hair and began to pull, which only led Ruffnut to bite harder, which made Tuffnut pull harder, which...well I think you get the picture.

A medium sized boy by the name of Snotlout smirked at the pair, who were now standing, but still biting/grabbing each other. "My money's on Ruff." He spoke, leaning towards a heavy set viking by the name of Fishlegs.

Snotlout wore a dark furred vest with a tan shirt that exposed the top portion of his chest. He had a black belt on with a skull in the center representing the Jorgensen family crest. He had brown cuffs on that protected his wrists and forearms. Unlike the twins Snotlout had a single horned helmet on that curved in a loop near the helmet before presiding away from his head.

Fishlegs on the other hand was by far the largest, and tallest of the others. He wore a giant fur coat that covered his entire body and only exposed his legs and feet. On his head he had a helmet that was comparable to a grown man wearing a childs hat. The horns didn't even reach out past his shoulders and made it that much more comedic on him. Over the years though his pudgy features and stomach had become more toned and muscled and he looked like quite the viking.

Astrid stepped up to the twins from behind and grabbed them by the scruff of their shirts. "When are you two ever going to grow up?" She said pulling the two apart, but failing as the two clung tighter towards each other. Astrid sighed in annoyance before resorting to grabbing them by their hair and pulling very violently towards the ground. The twins yelled in pain and collapsed onto the ground, both forgetting the fight as they rubbed their heads. "I think she took a chunk of my hair out!" Ruffnut exclaimed as she examined her braided hair to find a nice length of hair missing. "Sorry that was me." Tuff said holding up a lock of his sisters hair. She grabbed the hair and punched her brother hard in the face sending him skidding to a stop in front of the other males of the group.

"Your sister has a mean punch Tuff." Fishlegs said looking at the dazed expression on the young man. "Ah, thats nothin'. She hits like a girl. Going to take a whole lot more to take this viking down." Tuff replied struggling to stand up and wobbling before falling back down, his helmet slanted so it covered one eye. "Well this GIRL just knocked your lights out." Ruffnut said swinging a fist at him to signal she'd be more than happy to turn his lights out again. "What?! It was a compliment! Viking women can beat up any man they could get their hands on!" Tuff said scrambling to his feet and hiding behind Fishlegs whose eyes widen at the realization that he was in the potential crossfire of the dispute. Fishlegs slowly side stepped away leaving Tuffnut to fend for himself if Ruff decided the beating he already got wasn't smirked and grinned mischievously at her brother. "And don't you forget it."

"Uh...guys...now that that dispute is over. Anyone know where Hiccup is? He's never late." Fishlegs asked looking around the arena for their comrade. "He's talking to his dad today for some 'special' mission." Snotlout said sitting down on the stone floor with his legs sprawled out. "And how do you know this?" Astrid said crossing her arms. "Easy. My dads suppose to attend this meeting with them. Gobbers going too. Have no idea why though." Snotlout replied casually, though a hint of jealousy was present in his voice. After the battle with the Red Death Hiccup has been given a lot more responsibility. Any incident involving a dragon would be discussed with Hiccup before action would be taken. Any mission that involved a new type of dragon or strange occurrences believed to be caused by dragons would be discussed between Hiccup, Stoick (the chief), Gobber (Stoick's oldest friend and head blacksmith), and Spitelout (Hiccups uncle and Snotlout's father). Today was one of those days, but something seemed off. His dad seemed a bit more stressed heading towards this meeting then any of the previous ones his attended.

Snotlout wasn't jealous that Hiccup attended this private meetings, what he WAS jealous though, was the little runt becoming a very important figure both in the village and to the other tribes. "Your jealous." Tuffnut said smiling a toothy smile. This automatically snapped Snotlout out of his trance. "I am not!" Snotlout yelled standing up and glaring angrily at Tuffnut. "Hey. Don't sweat it. If I was in your position I would be jealous too. I mean, you were sure to be the next Chief until Hiccup learned how to ride a dragon, a Night Fury at that. Theres no way you're going to be Chief with his reputation. Thats all that matters now. Riding dragons. The better the rider the more respect. And lets be honest, you and..." Tuffnut chucked at this, "Snotface aren't really in the race for best riders." Ruffnut also chuckled at this and smiled. "Can't believe you named him that." Astrid closed her eyes and shook her head, also stifling a laugh. "Worst name ever, no wonder the poor guy burns and abuses you when he can." Fishlegs eyes brightened at the thought of this. "Never occurred to me that a name could determine behavior. I wonder if dragons are smart enough to base their emotions off names." He pulled out a notebook and began writing something down.

"Ugh! I renamed him to Hookfang guys! We went over this! And what you talking about not being the best riders?!" Snotlout yelled, his face darkened from anger. "You two fight more then me and Ruff." Tuffnut said chuckling and pointing towards his sister. "And thats saying ALOT." Snotlout huffed in irritation. "Fine! If the runt decides to show up then come and get me!" And with that, Snotlout stormed out of the arena. Tuffnut watched as Snotlout stormed out before looking back at the group. "What I say?" Astrid rolled her eyes and began walking towards the exit. "Come on. We'll check the mead hall to see if he's there. If so we'll wait till he gets out."

"And if not?" Fishlegs asked raising his hand up slightly signifying he was asking a question. "Then we'll board our dragons and look for him." Astrid said not even giving a second glance towards them. The others watched her for awhile before they scampered off to catch up to her.

Four vikings sat around a large table inside the mead hall. On Top of the table laid a map of the known world to the vikings (which is surprisingly a lot). Most of Europe was drawn out and a nice chunk of greenland was also drawn. The rest of the map was blank and riddled with drawings of mythical animals that were said to roam the edges of the world. A large man huffed in irritation. He wore a grey tunic that had no sleeves with a leather belt that had iron bolts all along it. A large fur pelt draped from his shoulders down his back; on top of the fur were two iron discs, one on each shoulder, that were engraved with the Jorgensen family crest. His name was Spitelout Jorgenson and by his facial expression, he was definitely not in a good mood.

Standing next to him was a massive viking with his right hand replaced with a mug. His left foot was also gone. He had a blond braided beard that stopped at his stomach. He wore a tan shirt and a pair of brown pants that was a size too small. His face and hands were calloused from the years of working in a forge. A large helmet sat on his head that had horns that went a good foot straight up into the air. He was the tribes blacksmith and Stoicks oldest friend, Gobber.

Standing next to him was a the largest viking of the group.. His stunning red beard set him apart from any other. He was Stoick the vast, Chief of the Hairy Hooligans. He wore a turquoise tunic and had a large fur pelt draped from his shoulders that signified he was the Chief. A riveted leather belt wrapped around his torso with an inscription of a dragon on it. Dangling from the belt were iron plated chain mail that stopped at his knees in a repeating triangle pattern around his body. On both arms he wore riveted leather cuffs that started at his wrist and ended as he elbow. The man was absolutely huge and poised as a serious threat to anyone who crossed paths with him. His tree trunk like arms rested on the table. He examined the map carefully before looking over to the viking on his right.

He was skinny but well toned and covered in leather armor from head to toe. On either shoulder he had black armor they dubbed "Dragon Skin". He had a chest piece made of the same black material that stopped at the end of his ribcage. His right Shoulder pad was thicker and had red paint on it resembling a fanged mouth.. A strap that came across his chest had the Hairy Hooligan crest inscribed on it showing all to the world he was a Hairy Hooligan, a viking. A helmet sat next to him that was black like the rest of his armor. Small spikes came out of his helmet and moved backwards giving it a more 'demonic' look. The entire outfit looked quite intimidating. Though most thought the metal leg he had gave him a handicap; instead the metal leg has proven its worth and has been customized to become a 'swiss army knife'. The vikings name was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the first dragon rider. He had grown up much from his encounter with the Red Death and was now shaping up to fit the role of a true Viking, yet in his own way.

Hiccup had been given the task of ensuring dragon cooperation with Berks everyday life and since things have been running smooth at Berk he has had the opportunity to help other tribes. Hiccup now acted as a dragon 'expert' that traveled to nearby tribes to solve their dragon problem. He never taught them the secrets to ride though, for fear of a dragon war being blamed on Berk. Dragon riding was a closely guarded secret of Berk. He would teach them what to do and even started up a few dragon training schools to teach the dangers of dragons. Messages of help were common and Hiccup would regularly make trips to other Viking clans. This latest message was nothing but regular and had caused a heated debate over the issue.

"I don't like it Stoick. They have never asked for our help before, hell, I didn't even know dragons lived that far!" Spitelout said eyeing the map angrily.

"I know your concern and I agree with ya. But this is the fifth message this month and their saying the attacks are growing more and more frequent." Stoick said rubbing his temple. "And we've already told them everything we can without actually being there. Our last option is to send Hiccup there and figure out what's causing these attacks."

"But Stoick! We've been at war with them for YEARS! Only in the last decade have we finally found peace! What if they try to kidnap Hiccup and use him as ransom, hm?"

"Spitelout. Do I need to remind you it was their current King and me that finally managed to settle the war? I doubt he'll want to start another. And Hiccup won't be alone this time. I think Fishlegs should accompany him." At this Hiccups eyes widen and he looked over at his dad. "You sure dad?" Hiccup said looking back towards the map. "Aye I'm sure. It's the best thing to do. You've never been this far from home and if they do have a dragon problem Fishlegs could prove to be very valuable, unless you'd prefer Astrid to accompany you instead?" Stoick said glancing at Hiccup with a knowing smirk on his face. Hiccup instantly lost his composure and turned a shade of pink. "Uh...n-no." Hiccups voice cracked. "Fishlegs is a perfect candidate." He finished, his voice returning to normal. Astrid and Hiccup have been dating for awhile now and pretty soon it was to be expected of them to...well...take the next step. Any mention of..._THAT_...and Hiccup turned back into a stuttering fishbone."When do we leave?"

Stoick chuckled and patted his son on the back. "You leave in a few hours to inform them that another rider will be there shortly. Both of ya can't show up at the same time now. Bad enough you'll be showing up unannounced as is. Fishlegs will arrive in a week. Should give them plenty of time to adapt to Toothless." Stoick said. At the mention of his name, a large black dragon jumped down from a perch. Yellow-green eyes stared at them as the dragon sat next to Hiccup and nudged him for attention. One of his tail fins were replaced by a man made one that had a few wires that led towards a saddle and connected to a stirrup that controlled the fin. A closer inspection revealed a bluish tint to his scales and natural curiosity in his eyes. Hiccup smiled and scratched his head, getting a soft purr from the dragon.

"Aye. Can't have them be prepared for ya if they are planning an ambush." Gobber said smirking, imagining the surprised faces on them when they see Hiccup show up out of the blue. "Well that settles that. Go on Hiccup. Meet me at the docks when you're ready to leave." Stoick said nudging his son along. "Come on Toothless. We gotta get ready for our trip." And with that, the pair bolted out of the hall, having a little race to see who could get to their house first.

"And if not?" Spitelout said, still having an angry expression on his face. Stoick turned and looked at him. "If not what?" Gobber said, also having turned to look at the viking.

"If there are no dragon attacks. If this is all an elaborate setup to capture our best ridder." Stoick eyed him for what seemed like hours before turning back at the map. "Then we'll teach them what a dragon attack is like. Scotland would burn for their treachery." Spitelout grinned at this before giving him a nod of approval.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN***

**Hope you enjoy this chapter! Was done yesterday, but was out all day fixing grandmas pool so late update. Hope this is worth the wait. If not let me now so i can fix any future chapters.**

Chapter 2

Welcome to the Highlands

_Some say our destiny is tied to the land, as much a part of us as we are of it. Others say fate is woven together like a cloth, so that one's destiny intertwines with many others. It's the one thing we search for, or fight to change. Some never find it. But there are some who are led._

In Scotland a proud kingdom stood. The king of the land ran a fair and just land with his queen. The pair had four children, three young triplets by the names of Harris, Hubert, and Hamish. The oldest a young woman, around the age of 17 named Merida. The King and Queen sat on either end of a long table with their triplet boys in the middle.

The Queen sat in a normal sized chair and had a stunning green dress on. Her brunette hair went down past her back. A tiara with an emerald in the middle sat atop her head. Her head was held high as she slowly ate her food in the manner demanded by a queen, slow and steadily. Her husband on the other hand...

The King sat in a large chair with a plate full of meat in front of him. He grabbed a turkey leg and took a large bite out of it, hardly chewing, and swallowed ravishly. The entire spectacle would have sent shivers down anyones back who was not accustomed to such habits. He had on a blue, purple, and green kilt on with a huge leather belt on. Around his chest he wore leather armor with chainmail around his shoulders. His hair was red and he had two massive wristbands rested on each wrist as the king waved his arms about, obviously telling a tale. "I saw something that day, something I'll not forget. It stands 12 feet tall, with razor sharp claws. Its hide littered with the weapons of fallen warriors. Its face scarred with one dead eye."

At this one of the triplets mocked the king word for word, motion for motion; including widening one of his eyes and pointing to it. Another had fallen asleep and had his head rested inside of a bowl. Another played with his food, bored from a story told a million times. Each one of them looked identical towards the other. Each had on a kilt resembling their fathers and had vibrant red hair and blue eyes. "I drew my sword and-"

"WHOOSH!" A redheaded teen yelled as she appeared between two of the triplets. The last being startled awake and falling out of his seat. The triplets were now wide awake and looked excitingly at their sister. She had on a blue dress that showed she was a princess of the clan. Her fiery red hair and stunning blue eyes told all that she was an independent being. A bow strung along her back showed that she was no ordinary princess. "One swipe his sword shattered then CHOMP! Dads leg was clean off! Down the monsters throat it went. " She said, now standing beside her dad and taking up a seat on the other side of her brothers.

"AWWW! That was my favorite part!" King Fergus whined sounding disappointed. "It wouldn't be until years later, that Mordu the demon bear would fall. Not to some warrior though. Instead he would meet his demise at the hands of the Queen as she protected her children." Merida said sitting down, glancing towards her mom. She looked from her brothers to her father and smiled. "Sorry dad." The King smiled softly at her and nodded his head. "Its ok, I think my new favorite part is when your mom killed the beast." The king whispered to her, covering his mouth with the remnants of the turkey leg. "I heard that." Queen Elinor said looking up from her dinner towards her husband.

The front door burst open and in ran a guard covered in armor. "Your highnesses! The dragons! They've returned and are attacking the farms!" Fergus immediately stood up. "Gather the men! Put the castle on lockdown. Elinor! Take the children to the tunnels until I come and get you." A loud boom rocked the great dining hall. The chandelier above them rocked side to side as dust fell from the roof. The castle had now become part of the dragons attack.

Elinor stood fast and grabbed the triplets. "Maudie! Help me take them to the tunnels!" A maid ran in, her face panicked and her hands shaking. She scooped up two of the boys and held them in her arms before rushing off. Elinor grabbed her last child, Harris, and ran over to her daughter. "Let's go Merida!" She grabbed Merida by the hand and began to pull her along before Merida stopped. "I can help though! Just give me a chance and I can help dad!"

"It's too dangerous! Them beasts have already killed a dozen of our soldiers. The battlefield is no place for a princess." Elinor said tugging Merida again. Merida knew she was right and with a depressed sigh, followed her mom.

King Fergus stood in the center of the castle square. His booming voice rang clear throughout the chaos. Dragons flew above them. A large explosion sent splinters flying into the air as a dwelling was hit by a fire ball. Soldiers clambered in armor ran to the roaring fire that used to be a house. Archers stood atop the towers and walls of the castle shooting countless arrows at the dragons. The dragons tough skin didn't budge as the arrows simply bounced off. "Get the animals to the woods!" Fergus yelled as a dragon swooped down and grabbed a goat before flying off into the sky. Fergus growled in anger as another goat was snatched. They had very little experience fighting dragons and the ferocity of the attacks stunned the scots.

A loud explosion caught his attention and he turned around to witness a few stones falling from one of the towers. A dragon had flown and shot at the archers there. A scream redirected his attention and he saw two archers jump off the tower as a large shadow landed on top of it. The shadow suddenly ignited and was covered completely in fire. With a mighty roar the dragon soared off into the sky. An eerie silence followed, the attack was over.

Everyone stood in stunned silence as they looked around at the damage caused by the sudden attack. A soldier ran up to Fergus and kneeled before him. Fergus sighed and looked over at him. "How bad is it?" The soldier stood and sighed before wiping a bit of blood off his brow. "Three dead, nine injured, two houses burned to the ground, six cattle taken, three goats, four chickens, and the furnaces in the forge are badly damaged. Campbell is one of the injured so we can't expect the forge to be up and running anytime soon." Fergus sighed heavily and looked towards the forge, sure enough a large hole was in the roof and a few of the furnaces were thrown about and destroyed. Campbell was the head blacksmith and ran everything involving the smith. The lost of the forge would be crippling, the inability to produce weapons or repair things could be costly in the long term. "What about Alan? Couldn't he run the forge?" Alan was a young apprentice of Campbell, no older than 14 but showed extreme talent in blacksmithing.

The soldier's face fell and he looked down towards the ground. "One of the dead your highness." Fergus blood ran cold and he looked once again towards the forge. He had personally known Alans parents and pushed for him to be a blacksmith. He couldn't help but feel guilty at the lost of someone so young. "Who else…?" He whispered looking back towards the soldier. "Henric and Norra." Fergus cringed again at the names. Henric was a watchmen at the north end of town, a faithful soldier and loyal to the crown. Norra was a shepherd, most likely died trying to defend her flock.

"Alright. I'll be back at the castle. I need to speak with the Queen about these matters." The soldier nodded and left, leaving the King alone to reminisce in his thoughts, and silently mourn. Merida and Elinor weren't going to take the news lightly, they never did.

"Mum. The fightings over, we could come out now." Merida whined pacing back and forth. Anyone not involved in the fighting had taken refuge in a tunnel system beneath the castle. It was dark and cramped, not like the open grassy plains Merida was accustomed to. "Your father said to wait here. And here shall we wait." Elinor said her head still hung high, even though they were beneath the castle at the moment. "But mum! You can't expect us to just sit here!" Before the queen could replay a loud scream drew their intention. Maudi was running towards them with a look of horror on her face. She ran past them and didn't even give a second glance. A few second later Harris, Hubert, and Hamish came running behind her; Hamish holding out a rat and chasing her with it. "Hamish, Harris, Hubert! Drop that rat this instant!" The queen yelled, now standing up and glaring angrily at her sons. She rarely lost her temper, but their was a time and place for their mischief. The tunnels weren't one of the places.. The trio stopped mid motion and slowly glanced towards their mom. Hamish gulped and slowly lowered his hand and released the rat. "Now, when Maudi calms down from her panic attack I want each one of you to apologize to her. Understood?" The triplets nodded their head in understanding. "Good. Now, run along." Elinor waved her hand out gesturing for them to go play, hopefully without the mischief.

"The wee devils they are." Merida said smiling as her brothers ran off to go terrorize some other poor soul. "Aye. I wonder where they get it from." Elinor smiled knowingly at her daughter. Merida caught her smile and looked surprise. "Hey! Don't blame that one me!" The queen smiled and sat back down. At that moment the door leading into the tunnel swung open and King Fergus walked in. "Dad!" Merida yelled before running up and jumping on the large man. Fergus smiled and wrapped his arms around his daughter. Elinor stood up and looked at her husband over Meridas shoulder. The look she gave him asked him how bad it was. Fergus face fell and he couldn't look her in the eye. She knew people had died tonight. A pain came at her heart but she subdued her emotions. A queen can not let her emotions get the better of her.

Merida felt the tension take hold of her dad and let go of to stare at his sullen face. "How bad was it?" Merida said, an unsettling feeling stirring in her stomach. Fergus looked from his daughter to his wife, unsure if he should actually tell her. Elinor seemed to debate this idea for a moment before nodding her head 'yes'. Fergus looked at Merida and took one of her hands. "We lost a lot of animals in the attack. The forge is all but destroyed and Campbell is injured. Nine others, including him, are also injured." He paused, debating on whether or not to say the next bite of news. Swallowing back any bit of hesitation, Fergus continued. "Henric, Norra, and Alan died in the attack." Fergus lightly sighed at this, glad to have got it done and over with it.

Merida stared in shock at her father. "Are you...are you sure dad?" Merida whispered, slowly absorbing what he just said. He nodded his head. "Bu-but dad! Alan was just a boy! He-he had no reason to just...die! He was young! Full of life!" Tears began to collect under her eyes as she realized she would never see the smiling boy in the smith. She saw him as a cousin that she could play with and talk to when her younger brothers couldn't. Norra...the thought of not seeing her made her fully cry now. Norra had given Angus to her when he was a wee calf. She constantly checked up on the pair and Merida saw her as an older sister. Then there was Henric. When she would sneak out of the castle it was alway under his watch. He'd give her a small wink and tell her to be back before midnight and never said a word to anyone about it.

These attacks were getting out of hand now. Each lost was heartbreaking and was like losing a family member. "Dad…" She whispered now crying onto his chest as he held her tight. "Shhh...it's ok Merida. Everythings going to be fine." She pushed herself away from him. "No its not!" People are dieing everyday now and we still don't know why! Those barbaric vikings are no help either! They tell us to take 'precautions'. When we ask for them to send a rider they tell us to try something else!" Fergus looked sadly at his daughter. "I know Merida. I wish we knew how to combat these flying demons. But we simply have no idea how."

"Then let me participate in the defense!" Merida said tears still streaming out of her eyes. Fergus eyes widen at the thought. "Arrows do no good against them. We've tried. They simply bounce off their skin."

Merida straightened herself, her eyes turning from anger to determination. "That may be so! But they never had an arrow shot at them from me!"

"I'm sorry sweety. But I'm not going to allow you out there with the chance of you being killed is so likely." Merida growled in anger before storming off past her dad. "Merida!" Elinor called following her daughter before a large hand stopped her. "Leave her by Elinor. She needs time to cool off." Fergus said, his face sadden by the argument. "Do you think they'll come to help?" Elinor asked, still looking at the direction her daughter ran off in. "Stoick may not look it, but he is a kind man. He's probably arguing with the others to send someone. Probably doesn't believe we're under attack." Elinor nodded her head sadly, hope still being present that help would arrive, and soon. With that, they pair returned back to the comfort of they castle.

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Chapter 3 is in progress at the moment.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN***

**Another chapter up and running! Trying to move the story along and get to the good stuff. **

** Comet Moon - This is in fact a Merricup story. Read this chapter and you'll understand how it ends up being one.**

**Next chapter wont be probably until Tuesday. Depends how bad the first day of school is. Wish me luck and enjoy! R&R!**

Chapter 3

The journey begins

While the meeting was taking place, the other teens of berk were busy making their way towards the mead hall. Spotting a familiar black shadow sitting on top of Hiccups house the group changed course and stopped there instead. Leading the pack, Astrid slowly knocked on Hiccups door. A few seconds later the door opened to reveal the famed dragon rider. A smile spread to his lips seeing all his friends standing outside his door. "Hey guys. What's up?" His smile faded though when Astrid crossed her arms and cocked her hip to the side. "What's wrong? You skipped the meeting today at the arena." Astrid peered over his shoulder to see a large traveling bag laid on the ground.

Her eyes narrowed and she glanced back towards Hiccup. "Where you heading?" Hiccup blinked then looked at his traveling bag. "Oh...uh...well…" How was he suppose to tell his friends he was going to scotland? Especially Astrid. She didn't believe in helping former enemies, even though they were on better terms now than ever before. "Well...theres a dragon problem and I have to get ready to go." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Where too." Astrid said entering his house, the others quickly following. "Ya sure, come right in." Hiccup said defeated. "Must be far for you to bring an extra fin." Fishlegs said looking at a bag filled with parts he might need in case the fin broke. "Well it's going to be pretty far. The furthest we've ever been. Far enough for my dad to decide that Fishlegs would accompany me on the trip." At the mention of his name, Fishlegs walked over to Hiccup. "Cool! When are we leaving?"

"You don't even know where you're going." Astrid said irritated, Hiccup was avoiding the question. Fishlegs shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't really matter. If I'm needed then I'll go. Problem is if Meatlug would be able to make a long trip. So where are we heading?"

"Scotland." Hiccup said nervously. All eyes widen at the word and the room took on a deathly silence. No one said a word as they all stared at one another. "Scotland? I never heard of any dragons heading that far west." Fishlegs said, his inner library running amok as he tried to determine any dragon species that flew that far. "Their reports suggested a Nightmare, apparently the dragon that keeps attacking them can light itself on fire, but they also said it can shoot spike, so it might be a Nadder." Hiccup said glad that Fishlegs was the first one to speak up.

"What do you mean? You don't know what it looks like? I mean. If this things attacked them so much they must have gotten a good glimpse to give us an accurate des...descri…" Tuffnut paused. His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to say the remainder of the word. "Discript...dospre…" He shook his head. "Aw you know what i mean." Everyone stared at him, traces of a small smile on all their faces, except Astrid. "Thats the problem Tuffnut. They never get a good look at him. They say he might even be colored black." At this Hiccup looked towards Toothless. There was only one dragon they knew of that was black. "It can't be. Not a Night Fury. He's the only one we've ever seen. And the other details won't support that it is." Fishlegs said shaking his head in disbelief. "It has to be like the attacks that used to happen here. A variety of dragons attacking at once. Theres no way one Dragon could posses all these traits." Hiccup walked up to Toothless and patted his head. "We haven't encountered attacks like that before though Fish. The attacks we've seen are alway the same species. It was only with the Red Deaths control that the dragons here learned to attack together. Fishlegs, what would be the statistic of a dragon with a combination of all three traits."

Fishlegs paused his rambling and thought, pulling out his fingers to count on them. "Is it fast?"

"I assume so." Hiccup said eyeing the boy as he did a rough calculation in his head. "Night Fury: Speed 20, Stealth 18. Deadly Nadder: Firepower 18, Venom: 16. Monstrous Nightmare: Shot limit 10, Attack 15." He paused as he continued the numbers together. Both Tuffnut and Ruffnut attempted to count, but stopped when they ran out of fingers. They looked at each others hands, hoping they'd had enough, which they didn't. Fishlegs stopped his counting and his eyes widened. "Hiccup. His overall rating is already at 97. That matches Toothless's rating. Thats not even including Armor and Jaw Strength! If it has the Gronckles Armor and Jaw Strength that'll put it at…" Fishlegs began mumbling as he recounted his numbers. "We don't know that Fish. We're not even sure if it has all these statistics. Might just be Scottish imagination getting the best of them." Hiccup said putting a reassuring hand on Fishlegs shoulder. The boy took a shaky breath and nodded his head. "Ya, lets hope so. Because this dragon sure sounds like a monster."

The two chuckled before a glare from Astrid silenced them both. "You're going to Scotland…?" Hiccup recoiled at the tone of her voice. It was laced with venom and felt like the tiniest spark would set her off. Fishlegs gulped and took a large step back, allowing Hiccup to now be the closest person to Astrid. "Don't forget about Fishlegs." Tuffnut said, oblivious to the situation that was currently developing. Ruffnut elbowed him in the ribs. "What?! What I say?!" Ruffnut shot him a glare and Tuffnut closed his mouth, not wanting a repeat of the days earlier skirmish. Apparently that spark wouldn't come from Tuffnut though, as Astrids angered gaze remained on Hiccup. Hiccup remained quiet, fear gripping his body as her gaze tore a hole threw his body. Not seeing him speak, Astrid spoke more forcefully. "Are you going to Scotland?" She took a step forward and he instinctively took a step back. On a good day Astrid could pulverize him, on a bad day, a leg isn't the only thing Hiccup could lose. Hiccup nodded his head yes, words still not forming in his head or mouth. That was the spark that set Astrid off. "Why are you helping the enemy!? We were at WAR with them! Do you expect to be welcomed with open arms!? I won't be surprised if this is some elaborate trap! The Scottish are not to be trusted! How stupid can you be Hiccup!? You've done a lot of things to get us in trouble, but this by far is the worse! Moments like this make me wonder if you even have a brain or your brain dead like Tuffnut!" Tuffnut stared at a fly as it flew around, still oblivious to the arguing going on. Ruffnut looked at her brother and slumped her shoulders.

"What do you want me to do Astrid?!" Hiccup retaliated, angered by the insults she threw at him. "This might be a chance to IMPROVE our relationship between our two tribes!" Astrid took another step forward, but Hiccup stood his ground. "They don't deserve ANYTHING from us except the end of a sword!" Astrid yelled, by now she was standing directly in front of Hiccup. Fishlegs snuck around her and stood by Tuffnut and Ruffnut. All watching the scene unfold. "Stop letting your emotions and what you were taught cloud your judgement!"

"My EMOTIONS? What has that to do with anything!?" Astrid roared, now fuming with anger. Hiccups face fell as he looked towards the ground. "We know that your dad died during the war, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't make amends with them." Astrid growled in anger at Hiccup. "And what if this situation was about Alvin and the other outcasts, hm? Would we be having this conversation if the Scottish had killed _YOUR_ mother instead of them? You know what? We still probably would. Because you are so trusting its pathetic. If you go Hiccup, we're through." With no other exchange of words, Astrid turned and walked out of the house.

Hiccup stood in stunned silence as he watched her go. Usually Tuffnut would have something to remark in the situation, but he remained silent as they watched their friend try to absorb everything that just happened. Slowly Hiccup brought his gaze back towards his bags. Toothless walked up to him and nudged his arm sympathetically; not knowing the full extent as to what happened, but knowing it had made Hiccup sad. "Its alright bud. She'll get over it." Hiccup said quietly as he continued to pack for the trip. "What? You're still going?" Ruffnut said, surprised clearly shown in her voice and face. Hiccup looked up from his bags towards the remainder of his friends. He had momentarily forgotten they were there. "Ya. The Scots need me whether she likes it or not. She'll forgive me for it."

"And if she doesn't?" Fishlegs said nervously, fidgeting from the fight that had taken place. Hiccup paused and sighed sadly. "Then it wasn't ment. Mind meeting me at the docks in a few hours? Give me plenty of time to pack." They all nodded 'yes' and left Hiccup and Toothless to their thoughts.

Before any of them knew it, dusk had arrived and the entire village was gathered at the stood ready as Hiccup checked his supplies one last time. _'Change of clothes, check. Back up fin, check. Letter from the Highlands, check. Map, check. Helmet,'_ Hiccup paused as he took out his viking helmet. It was a piece of his moms breastplate, still creepy but sentimental. He smiled and set it back in his bag. _'check.' _He looked over to a small satchel next to his bag._ 'Bonnlose,'_ Hiccup again paused and looked around. With a sigh Hiccup walked over to the other side of Toothless and opened up a bag of food. Inside the bag there was no food, instead a blue Terrible Terror poked its head out and burped out a small flame.

Since the defeat of the red death, Terrible Terrors have commonly been used to carry messages through out Berk and the other Viking islands. It was the quickest and most reliable way to transport messages. "Bonnlose! That was supposed to last us two days!" The small dragon leaped out of the bag and grabbed onto Hiccups shirt. He climbed up his chest and wrapped himself affectionately around his shoulders. The dragon rubbed against Hiccups cheek in an attempt to soften his punishment. "Its ok Hiccup. We planned for that to happen and packed a spare." Gobber said handing him another bag of food.

"Why again must you bring _that_ messenger with you? I think any of the other ones would do." Stoick said eyeing the small dragon, which only buried its head deeper into Hiccups neck. "He's the strongest one we got Dad. Plus he hasn't lost a message yet. With these factors he's the perfect choice for this mission." Hiccup said petting the dragon affectionately. "Ya, and the dragon is really loveable. Won't get into much trouble like the others." Fishlegs said standing beside Gobber. "Unless there's a famine going on. In which case they'd probably murder him for eating a weeks worth of food in an hour." Tuffnut said chuckling. Ruffnut also laughed and nodded her head in agreement.

Toothless grumbled and wiggled around, showing he was ready for take off. "Alright, alright." Hiccup grabbed Bonnlose and put him in the satchel. The terrible terror poked his head out and looked around in excitement. Hiccup turned around a smiled at everyone that had gathered. Nearly everyone present in the village was there to see him off. Everyone but Astrid. "Take care Hiccup." Stoick said, his voice was firm, but a hint of worry was present. "I'll be fine. I'll send Bonnlose back as soon as we reach land. If I don't reply…" Stoick nodded his head in understanding. "I'll give you only five days to reply once we send him off. If you don't reply till then we'll assume the worse. That goes for your entire duration there." Hiccup nodded his head and hopped up onto Toothless. "You ready bud?" Toothless wiggled in excitement. Hiccup turned toward Fishlegs. "See you in a week." Fishlegs nodded his head. Toothless crouched and opened up his wings. With a powerful push the trio were up in the air soaring high above berk. Hiccup stirred Toothless towards the setting sun. They were heading west now, towards the unknown, towards the Highlands.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN***

**Uhhhhh...oops. Sorry about that. Had no idea I did that until now. Here's chapter four. This one took a lot out of me so I'm a bit brain dead here. Specially since its 5:00 and I'm off to school.**

** Comet Moon - Yes it is the same helmet from the trailer. Though that might change due to circumstances that will arise latter on. And most likely its reforged because Stoick is supposed to wear it too. But his seems smaller than Hiccups. Though that may be just the size difference. Which is pretty drastic then.**

** LettersUnWritten - I hope the formatting on this one is better on the eyes. I tried to space out the dialog as much as i can. Though this chapter is more about plot movement then character interaction. If its not then tell me and I'll try something else to help out on the eyes. **

**Well R&R!**

Chapter 4

First Encounter

The wind swept through Meridas hair as she galloped on Angus through the woods. She swung from left to right as she quickly notched an arrow and released. She had perfected her accuracy against the targets. The only thing to do now was perfect her speed. Within a few short seconds she had already released four more arrows. They all landed near the bullseye, but not a single one has yet hit its mark. Merida slowed angus down till they came to a dead stop. She huffed in the exertion of pulling back the bowstring so many times in quick succession. Rolling her shoulders, Merida jumped off Angus and preceded to collect her arrows.

"HMPH! Da says I can't shoot down a dragon. Too fast they are he says. Well! Lets see whos faster than a dragon!." Merida ranted as she went about collecting her arrows. The ones that were out of reach remained there until she took down the entire target. She mounted Angus and kicked his sides lightly.

"Come on Angus. Again!" The horse remained still though and didn't budge a single inch.

"Come on Angus. Lets go!" Angus whined and shook his head no. They had been doing this since they first woke up, and that was nearly five hours ago! Angus has had enough and turned around abruptly before trotting off towards the castle.

"Angus! What are you doing! Hey!" Angus didn't slow our change course, though the shouts of protests were beginning to annoy him. "Well if we're heading home lets at least run there!" Merida said urging the horse to run by prodding his sides with her feet once again. Angus rolled his eyes and neighed, but complained and began running towards home. They hadn't even gone three feet before Angus once again stopped dead in his tracks. Merida felt his body tense as his ears perked up. Angus ears swiveled from side to side as he listened to his surroundings.

By his posture Merida knew that Angus felt there was somebody...or some_thing..._near. Merida slowly pulled the bow off her back and notched an arrow. A rustle to her left drew her and Angus attention. Another rustle from behind suggested something big heading towards them, roughly 20 meters away Merida guessed. Whatever it was was now to her left as the cracking of leaves and trees escalated. A low growl startled Merida and Angus as the animal continued to circle around them. Angus was now pacing around. His body shook with fear and did little to steady Meridas nerves. A loud roar froze the pair with fear. Merida screamed as fire erupted behind them sending Angus off in a full gallop forwards.

A few short feet latter fire erupted from their left and front; forcing the pair to turn right to avoid a fiery death. More fire erupted to their left and front and once again Merida and Angus were forced to turn right. Before even of them knew it a perfect ring of fire had encircled them. Merida was now completely panicking. She had fired her bow a few times hoping to hit the beast that was attacking her, which by now she knew to be a dragon.

Angus whined loudly as he continued running in vain to find an exit. A large shadow dropped down in front of them and angus skidded to a halt. The dragon was twice...no...three times bigger than Angus. Smoke bellowed out of his nostrils with each breath. She could just make out large horns on its head and massive spikes that ran down its back towards its tail. Which looked like a massive mace that could obliterate any poor soul that came in contact with it. Merida gulped in fear, as did Angus. The dragon was pure black but had blue circles around its body. Merida couldn't help but be reminded of clan MacKintosh; who also wore similar blue circles.

Any comfort in that thought were disintegrated as the dragon roared and leapt towards them. Merida closed her eyes tight, hoping to see her family one last time.

**5 Hours Earlier**

The early morning dew clung to hiccups helmet as Toothless flew low to the ground. At night they two had the luxury of flying at any altitude, but once daylight broke the horizon they were forced low to the ground to avoid curious eyes that happened to look up. Toothless shook his body slightly to get rid of any water droplets that collected on his body. They had already made landfall, but were forced to keep going due to the castles location. "We're almost there bud." Hiccup looked around and saw a piece of land that wasn't covered in trees. "Hey! You see that clearing? Lets land there to take a break." A low grumble rumbled through both stomachs and they both agreed. Bonnlose snorted in agreement.

Hiccup laughed as the little dragon stuck it head out of its bag. "Remember to stay near when we land Bonnlose. The locals aren't too friendly towards dragons." The dragon huffed a reply and Hiccup couldn't help but tell that the Terrible Terror was going to be a big problem in a small package. Toothless dived downwards and landed swiftly in a large clearing. Hiccup relaxed his muscles and sled off of hiccups saddle. Removing his helmet, Hiccup took a good look at his surroundings and gasped in shock. In the initial landing Hiccup hadn't noticed the large stone pillars that surrounded them on all sides.

Bonnlose whistled in appreciation. Something the Terrible Terrors learned to mimic from Vikings on berk. "You go that right…" Hiccup replied walking towards one of the pillars. It had cracked in half and fallen over. Hiccup kneeled next to it and ran a hand along its smooth surface. His prosthetic gave him some trouble standing but nothing major. He had put metal cleats on the bottom of his prosthetic to give him better traction. Hiccup returned to Toothless and opened up his rations bag. He gave a small fish to Bonnlose, who ate it whole in the blink of an eye, while he gave Toothless a larger one.

Hiccup sat down beside Toothless and began eating his ration of dried meat and hard bread. Bonnlose curled up on Hiccups lap and yawned. "I guess a quick nap won't cause any harm." Hiccup said sighing lazily. Hiccup blinked slowly and was lulled to sleep by the steady breathing of Toothless.

A few hours later Hiccup awoke with a jolt. His head was throbbing slightly and he rubbed it before sitting up. Toothless had gotten up and was now slowly creeping towards the forest. His body language sent redflags and Hiccup quickly stood and put his helmet back on. Grabbing a small sword Hiccup slowly approached the Night Fury. "What's wrong bud?" The Night Fury hissed a replay; telling Hiccup to remain quiet.

Hiccup remained quiet and looked around. A light breeze had developed and it sent shivers up his spine. His eyes went wide with realization; someone in their group was missing. "Wheres Bonnlose?" Hiccup whispered scanning the area for the Terrible Terror. Toothless didn't replay. Instead he crept into the forest, his gaze focused intently on what lied ahead. Hiccup followed behind him. Making sure to step where he stepped to ensure he didn't make any unnecessary noise.

A loud scream stopped both companions in their tracks. "Oh now. Bonnlose! They must have found him!" Toothless nodded his head in agreement and the pair took off running. Both hoping that their tiny friend would be alright until they got there. A loud roar made both dragon and riders eyes widen in surprise. It definitely wasn't a Terrible Terrors roar. They were small and squeaked a lot. This one was like a bass. Power and strength rippled through the air from such a roar. The pair exchanged a quick glance. In a single motion Hiccup hopped onto Toothless back and clicked his foot in. Toothless now running as fast as he could. Bonnlose was fine for now, but whoever screamed definitely wasn't.

Hiccup could see fire rapidly approaching them. Who ever was being attacked was on the other side. With a powerful kick of his legs, Toothless leaped over the fire. Expecting to land back on solid ground, Hiccup wasn't prepared for the jarring stop they experienced as Toothless slammed into something very large. Hiccup flew off the saddle and landed hard on his shoulder, but experience from such landings allowed him to roll to lesson the power of the blow. As he rolled Hiccup twisted his body and skidded to a stop. His prosthetic left foot was extended out behind him. The clets digging deep into the ground to slow him down. His right foot was bent slightly in front of him as if he was kneeling down.

Hiccup looked up, expecting to see Toothless and whatever they had collided with. Instead he was met with a surprised pair of blue eyes. Hiccup momentarily froze at the sight before him. A young petite woman sat atop of a giant horse. Her hair red and alive like the fire that surrounded them both. She had on a green dress with gold trimmings. A bow rested in one hand as another held an arrow. A large commotion to his right snapped his gaze away as he saw Toothless fighting with another dragon.

The unknown dragon slammed it head into Toothless side and sent Toothless crashing into a nearby tree. Snarling, the dragon turned it head back towards his first target, Merida. Hiccup ran between the two. Already knowing what the dragons intention was. Training dragons for five years gave much needed experience to Hiccup. He was able to hold his own against any dragon, besides Toothless, back on Berk. If he caused enough damage the dragons usually would submit and fly away. They weren't on Berk though. And this dragon wasn't simply going to fly away.

Hiccup ran towards the beast. Knowing that this tactic usually threw the dragon off balance since they didn't expect an attack from the smaller animal. As planned, the dragon took a few steps back, surprised by the move. Hiccup slashed at the dragons legs. The sword contacted its skins, but simply skidded off. Sending small sparks into the air. Hiccup rolled away from the slash of the dragon and put a few feet between them. Looking at the dull blade in shock. One swap had dulled the blade to the point it was better off being a stick then a sword. It had taken him five days to craft the sword and sharpen it to his likings. He didn't have time to relish on the lost of his sword as the dragons giant tail swept towards him.

Rolling, Hiccup barely managed to avoid a flattening strike by the giant mace. "Over here!" a voice yelled from behind the dragon. Hiccup looked and noticed the girl from earlier shooting arrow upon arrow at the dragon. They didn't do nothing except irritate the demonic dragon. Which now turned its attention back to the scottish princess.

Before the dragon could take a step towards the princess a large paw smacked the dragons face. Three long claw marks appeared on his face as turned a sickly red as blood trickled out. Toothless was back in the fight. Hiccup stood besides Toothless, now holding a battle axe. Astrid had been very persuasive that he carry one on his hip at at times. He'd need to thank her for that once the get him. The thought of her brought a slight pain to his chest.

The dragon stared at its opposition. Growling in annoyance it turned around and ran off into the forest. The fight, as quick it was, had really drained Hiccup and the adrenaline of it was quickly wearing off. He could feel his shouldering beginning to cramp up from the fall earlier in the fight. Pushing his own injuries aside, Hiccup turned to examine his flying friend. "You ok Toothless?" The dragon huffed and lifted up his right front leg. Three long scratches were clearly visible and bleed slightly. Hiccup knelt down to examine the would closely. "Not too deep. We just got to keep it clean and it should heal soon."

Merida had by now hopped off of Angus and was slowly approaching the pair. Her bow still at the ready. Though the pair had just protected her, Merida didn't know these two and wouldn't take any chances. Merida stopped approaching once she heard the dragon growling softly at her. Hiccup turned around and noticed Merida standing a few feet behind him. He stood and wiped his hands off on his pants. "Is he going to be fine?" She asked cautiously.

"Ya. Its just a scratch. Needs to be cleaned out regularly though." Merida nodded her head and strapped her bow onto her back and placed an arrow back into the quiver. The growling from Toothless softened further, but never stopped.

Merida frowned at this. "What do I have to do to make him-it is a him isn't it?" Hiccup nodded his head yes before patting Toothless on the head. Meridia continued speaking. "What do I have to do to make him stop growling."

"He doesn't trust you. Set your weapons aside and you shouldn't have a problem." Hiccup said. His tone making it seem like it was obvious. Merida glared at him before staring back at Toothless. She slowly removed her bow and quiver and set them aside. Toothless eyed them until she let them go. The moment she did this his attitude and posture changed from hostile to curious.

With the growling stopped, Merida continued to approach the pair slowly. She stopped a few feet and stared intently at Hiccup. Her gaze seemed to penetrate through his armor and helmet. Hiccup couldn't help but shuffle nervously. He knew she was analyzing him now, for what he didn't know. He didn't have to wait long before Merida spoke up. "Your from Berk aren't you?" Hiccup couldn't help but to laugh at her accent. The deep scottish accent really enhanced her personality.

"Well?" Merida persisted. Ignoring the laughing coming from the viking. Her eyes were looked on what little eyes she saw. Hiccup stiffened from the seriousness in her voice.

"Yes. I heard that the King and Queen requested help from us." Hiccup said patting Toothless on the head again.

"You came to help with our dragon problem?" Merida said, the seriousness still present in her voice.

"I'm here until its fixed or I'm no longer welcomed." Hiccup said softly. He needed her to like him. His mission wouldn't start off well if the first scot he found ended up hating him.

Her face hardened at him. "You don't look like much of a viking." Hiccup frowned, though she couldn't see, and crossed his arms. Before he could reply her face softened and a slight blush came to her cheeks.. "Maybe it would help if I could see your face." Hiccup blinked a few times in confusion before he realized that even though he could see her fine, she couldn't.

"Oh! Ya sorry. Introductions would be nice too." His brown hair puffed out as he removed his helmet. "I'm Hiccup." He put his hand out for her to shake.

Merida face blushed a little more. He looked rather handsome than what she thought he would. And that thought had already caused her to blush. A soft smiled formed on the edges of her lips as she shook his hand. "Merida of DunBroch." Toothless grumbled and bumped Hiccup.

"Oh! This is Toothless." Hiccup said gesturing to the dragon beside him. Merida smiled and reached out to pet him, stopping half way as she waited for permission. Toothless sniffed her hand and bumped her hand with his head. Merida giggled in excitement and scratched his head. Smiling proudly at her small accomplishment. She looked from Toothless to Hiccup. "Do you have a place to stay?" Hiccup shook his head no.

"Just got here this morning." Meridas smile grew as she grabbed his hand and began pulling him along. "Come on then! You can stay at my house!" Any protest that he gave was lost as Merida dragged him hurriedly through the woods. Neither of them knew it, but this was the start of the best friendship either of them would ever have.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN* **

**Next chapter is up! Don't forget to read chapter 4. I know the double post screwed things up but its fixed. Hope you enjoy the following chapter.**

**R&R!**

Chapter 5

First Impressions

Hiccup had to admit. This girl was STRONG. He had tried for the last fifteen minutes to try and free is hand from her cast like grip on him. "Merida! Where are we going?" Hiccup said having given up on trying to free his hand. He now focused his energy on keeping up with Merida.

"I told you we're going to my house." Merida stated rather than answered. "Now stop your whining and hurry up. Mum and Da are going to throw a fit if I'm late for lunch." Hiccup raised his eyebrows as a mischievous grin spread across his lips.

"Oh? They'll get mad at you for being late to lunch, but not for bringing a strange boy you found in the woods home huh?" Meridas long, quick strides stopped abruptly. Hiccup stumbled and nearly collided into her at the sudden stop. Toothless wasn't so fortunate and slammed head first into Hiccups back, who then in turn crashed into Merida. Toothless grabbed the back of Hiccups shirt with his teeth instantly.

Hiccup saw Merida falling towards the ground, falling to grab onto Angus's reins, and reacted based on instinct. He reached out and grabbed her by the waist, stopping her from falling. Hiccup couldn't help but realize how well his hands fit on her hips. It was like two pieces of a puzzle finally connecting, a magnet finding its opposite. Meridas heart was beating heavily against her chest as his hands remained there. She didn't know why, but she wanted his hands to remain there, to always remain there. But alas all things have to come to an end and she spoke up."Uh, H-Hiccup. Y-You could let go now." Merida stuttered. Her face turned a dark pink and she thanked the gods he only saw the back of her head. Hiccups hand snapped away from her hips as if they had just got burned.

Suppressing the recent close encounter as much as she can, Merida thought about the previous question asked. She simply couldn't show up with Hiccup in front of her mom and dad. What would she say?_'Mum, Dad. I got attacked by a dragon in the woods. I'm fine, heck, I'm more than fine! Guess who I found in the woods? A dragon rider from Berk! Is it ok if he stays here with us?'_ Merida rolled her eyes at the thought, _'Mum would have a heart attack at the mention of me being attacked.' _Merida peeked behind her shoulder at Hiccup, who had suddenly turned his head and stared quite interestingly at his feet. Her face turned a deeper pink as she faced forward. She realized that she caught him staring at her. Merida shook her head at the thought. _'Why am I even thinking these thoughts!? Come on Merida. You turned your mum into a bear a year ago to avoid a man. Now you can't stop blushing thinking about one looking at you! Specially one that you just meet! A viking nonetheless! What would mum say?' _

Merida turned fully towards Hiccup, who looked up from the ground towards her. A light blush was apparent on his cheeks, though Merida would check that off to the running they just did. "Your right. I can't let you just show up to my home. Not without you meeting the King and Queen first." A smile spread across her face as his face fell. He still didn't know she was the princess. This was going to be more fun than it should.

"I'll get you an audience with them. Don't know what they might do to you." She said, her voice hinting that it might be bad.

Hiccup stiffened at her tone. _'What does she mean "don't know what they might do to you"? They won't dismiss me right? Or maybe execute me? What if they take me prison or something?' _Merida smiled at his reaction. "I'm just kidding laddie. They'll be overjoyed to see you! You're such a wee lamb." She cooed and took his hand once again to pull him along. Hiccup blinked in confusion. He never heard of that term before, wee lamb. "Uh…? Thanks?" Hiccup truly didn't know how to replay to that. A rustle to their right stopped any further conversation. Toothless stiffened and growled warningly at anything that was near. Angus whined nervously and bumped Meridas side. Merida ignored him for now and pulled out her bow as Hiccup equipped his axe, ready for whatever would appear.

The rustling in the bushes stopped once Toothless growled. Toothless sniffed towards the bush and sighed annoyingly. He sat down and stared at the bush. Hiccup raised an eyebrow and looked from Toothless to the bush. Toothless body language made it clear there was no danger. "What is it bud?" As Hiccup turned to face the bush once again, a blue blur darted out of the bush and grabbed onto Hiccups face. Hiccup screamed in surprise and fell on his butt. Merida instantly faced her bow towards the blue animal, but had no shot and didn't fire. Thats when she realized it wasn't any ordinary animal, it was a small dragon.

Hiccup was definitely surprised from the sudden 'attack'. The blue Terrible Terror wrapped affectionately around Hiccups shoulders and nuzzled his cheek. "Bonnlose!" Hiccup exclaimed as he pulled the dragon out in front of him. "Where've you been!?" Bonnlose burped a reply, signaling he'd gone out and foraged. "Ugh! You just ate not even a few hours ago! Dragons usually feed once a day. You on the other hand, eat over three seconds." Bonnlose licked his own eye and stared indifferently at Hiccup, who sighed in defeat. "Sometimes I think I'm crazy." A giggle caught his attention as he looked up to notice Merida laughing at him. After a snort escaped her mouth Hiccup also started laughing. Bonnlose looked over to Merida and Angus curiously, just now noticing the Scottish redhead and clysdale. He freed himself from Hiccups grasp and flew over to Angus, landing softly at his hooves.

Bonnlose looked up and sniffed at the giant horse. Angus bent his head down and smelled the tiny dragon. The horse sneezed and took a few steps back, shaking his head as he sneezed again. Bonnlose hissed at the horse and scampered towards Merida.

Merida stiffened as the dragon sniffed her feet and very suddenly climbed up on her. Hiccup watched with a grin as Bonnlose made its way up to Meridas face. Their noses were inches apart as the dragon stared deep into Meridas blue eyes. Bonnlose let out a happy chirp and wrapped around meridas shoulders before nuzzling against her neck. Merida stared wide eyed at Hiccup and silently asked him what he was doing. Hiccup had a slight look of surprise on his face which only heightened Meridas nervousness."He only does that to me," Hiccup said surprised, "he must really like you."

Now knowing that this was a sign of affection, Merida slowly stroked Bonnloses' scales. A soft purr escaped him as Merida began scratching his back. "Awwww. Your such a wee darling." Hiccup smiled at the pair. "His names Bonnlose, one of the messengers Berk uses. Raised him myself." Bonnlose looked up at Hiccup and gurgled at him. Merida raised an eyebrow at him. "Bonnlose?" The dragon turned it head towards her and gurgled inquisitively, wanting to know why its name was being called. Hiccup nodded his head. "He got the name from eating Toothless entire supply of fish for the day. Its norse for 'Bottomless'." At the mention of the food incident Toothless growled softly and stared at Bonnlose. The Terrible Terror flicked its tounge tauntingly at Toothless. Knowing that Toothless wouldn't dare attack him while Merida or Hiccup was holding him, well, Hiccup was the exception.

Merida laughed at the tale. "You're going to be as mischievous as the boys aren't ya?" Merida said, continuing to walk.

"Boys?" Hiccup asked inquisitively. Merida glanced back and nodded her head.

"Aye! My brothers. Triplets to be exact. Hamish, Harris and Herbert. The wee devils they are. They could get away with murder!" Merida said laughing as Hiccups face paled. Before he could ask any further questions Merida held up her hand to stop them. "This is as far as the dragons can go," Merida started, "for now." She amended, "Can't show up out of the blue with two dragons. Wait here for ten minutes then head down the path towards the castle. Tell the guard who you are and they'll take you to the throne room. I'll tell them you're coming." Merida said as she saddled Angus. Just before she galloped off Hiccup called out. "Wait! Would I see you again?"

A small blush came to her cheeks. "Aye. Sooner than you'd expect. Come on Angus." And with that Merida disappeared into the forest.

Merida galloped into the stables and hopped off of Angus. "I'll be back as soon as I can Angus. Have to get ready for our _guest._" Merida smiled running off, leaving a very hungry and irritated horse. Merida rushed through the kitchen but stopped abruptly when she noticed the gigantic mess. Cooks and maids were busy cleaning up the mess and a few guards stood near. Merida approached Maudie who was sitting in a corner fanning herself. Having another one of her panic attacks. A few servants sat beside her trying to calm her down.

"Maudie?" She jumped at the sound of her name being called.

"Merida! Your ok! Thank the heavens! Your dad is worried sick about you!" Maudie said hugging Merida tightly. Merida blinked in confusion before freeing herself from the started nanny.

"What happened in here?" Merida asked looking around the destroyed kitchen. It looked like there had been a scuffle in there. Pots and plates littered the floor and a few burn marks lined the walls.

"Oh my lady! It was awful! It was a _dragon_. It fly straight at me and was gonna eat me! It was small like a dog or cat. I can still see its blue scales! Your dad saw it too and tried to kill it!" Meridas brain froze. _'Blue scales? Oh god. Bonnlose. He was forging in the castles kitchen!'_ Merida wanted to laugh so bad, but held it in. She looked around and then peeked out into the great throne room. She saw her dad talking to a few soldiers about. They were preparing to go out and find the dragon that 'attacked' Maudie.

Merida ran up to Fergus, who was now finished talking to them. He turned and smiled broadly at his daughter. "Merida! Your ok thank the gods!" He grabbed Merida and spun her around in a tight hug. Merida gasped in surprise before giggling happily at the show of affection. Fergus set his daughter back down, the seriousness returning back to him. "There was a dragon attack in the kitchen. We're heading out to find em and kill it. Stay here with mum and the boys." Fergus turned to leave, but Merida stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

"Da wait! It wasn't an attack." Fergus stopped and raised an eyebrow, curious as to what she had to say. Merida took a deep breath and told him everything that had happened in the woods. Ranging from the dragon attack to Bonnlose surprises visit, excluding the part she nearly fell and he caught her.

After the tale Fergus collapsed onto the throne. Trying to digest everything his daughter just told him. "So where is he now?"

"On the outskirts. Told him to wait there for a few. Dad, he sorta...doesn't know I'm the princess." Fergus groaned and placed his hand on his forehead in exasperation. Merida smiled and shrugged her shoulders at her dad. "Thought it would be fun to see his face at the realization I was the princess." Fergus laughed quickly.

"Well go get ready then. I'll tell your mother to be ready and to make sure the boys are ready." Merida smiled and ran off to her room. For the first time in her life, she was excited to dress up as a 'proper princess'.

Hiccup tossed a stone lazily against the floor. He sat in the shadow of Toothless, his back leaning against him. Bonnlose jumped from tree to tree, chasing some unseen prey. "How am I suppose to know how long ten minutes is? Its not like I have a sun dial on me." Hiccup said tossing a stone and looking over at Toothless. Toothless shrugged a response, either not caring or not knowing.

"Thank you for nothing Toothless. Wake me when you think we should leave."

It wasn't long until Toothless got up, instantly waking Hiccup up. Bonnlose was still playing, so it hadn't been that long. Hiccup stood, stretched and dusted himself off. "Well bud, time for me to go. You and Bonnlose stay here. Merida might have warned them I was coming, but i still want to make sure we're ok." Toothless grumbled and pressed his head against Toothless chest. "I'll be fine bud. Nothings going to happen." Hiccup said scratching Toothless head. Toothless lifted his head and gurgled towards Bonnlose. The Terrible Terror jumped down and landed on Hiccups shoulder. He didn't wrap around him, instead he remained perched on his shoulder, his tail wrapped around his arm to keep balance.

"Bonnlose? What are you doing? You can't come." Hiccup moved to grab Bonnlose, but a low growl from Toothless stopped him. Toothless gave him a look that made everything clear. If he couldn't go then Bonnlose would. "Alright, I see what's going on. Stay here till I come and get you." Hiccup said hugging Toothless head. Toothless replayed with a lick to Toothless face. "Ugh. Thanks bud. Nothing says 'Dragon Rider' then dragon drool on your face." He said sarcastically. They parted ways and as Hiccup and Bonnlose made there way towards DunBroch castle.

It didn't take long for the pair to reach the front gate and be greeted by many gasps of shock and fear. Hiccup felt his palms grow sweaty as villagers collected behind him. All eyeing and whispering about him literally behind his back. A pair of guards ran up to Hiccup, spears raised and pointing towards him. Hiccup raised his hands up in surrender and took a step back. "Woah, woah, woah. Relax. I came to speak to the King and Queen. They requested my presence." The guards glanced towards each other. Another guard joined them from the front as two more ran up behind him. Bonnlose turned around, facing the two behind Hiccup and hissed a warning.

A large soldier with steel armor stepped forwards, a long sword held in one hand as he held a large wooden shield in the other. "Follow me. Coull!" A town guard ran forward and looked towards the large solider. "Go inform the King and Queen of our guest." Coull nodded his head and ran off towards the keep of the castle. Hiccup watched the guard leave before turning to face the head of the guards. Once Coull was out of sight the head guards turned and began walking. A soldier behind Hiccup nudged Hiccup forward as soldiers flanked all around him. "Great...guess I'm a prisoner now." Hiccup muttered to himself as he was lead to the castle.

King Fergus and Queen Elinor sat in their respective throne chairs. Elinor's head was held high as she stared at the door in front of them. Fergus had informed her of what happened and she was waiting excitedly, though it didn't show by her calm demeanor. Next to her her three triplets sat fighting each other with wooden swords. Though a year has passed since the marriage incident and a lot has changed, some things never change. Merida wasn't present yet and Elinor felt a tug of worry on why she was late.

The massive doors opened up revealing a wall of guards. They preceded in and dispersed revealing a scrawny, yet muscular viking. Elinor and Fergus felt a twinge of disappointment when they saw Hiccup and couldn't help but feel that Berk was cheating them of help. Hiccup stepped away from the guards and towards the King and Queen. He got down on one knee, as his father had told him was 'proper', and bowed his head. "Your majesties. I am Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III of berk. I've come to your request to help rid yourself of your dragon problem."

Fergus stood and motioned for Hiccup to stand. "Uh...thank you Hiccup. The-uh-clans will most appreciate your arrival." Fergus was fidgeting at speaking. He was a natural fighter and leader, but talking was his downfall. Elinor rose and stepped in front of her husband.

"Your arrival young dragon rider is most welcomed. We shall hold a feast in your name to celebrate your arrival. Though a believe introductions are in order. I am Queen Elinor. This here is my husband King Fergus." She gestured to herself then to Fergus. "And the wee troublemakers back there are our sons. Hamish, Herbert, and Herbert." She glanced back towards the triplets who had paused in mid fight to wave at them. She looked around to the empty throne on the left. Where Merida should have been. "I don't know where our daughter is. She should have been here."

A voice from the stairs caught their attention. "I'm right here mum. Sorry I'm late. Had to freshen up." Merida appeared at the top of the stairs wearing a blue dress with gold braiding on the edges. Her hair was freshly washed and looked like wild silk upon her head. She walked to her mom and stood next to her. Smiling broadly at Hiccup, who had a completely shocked face. "Your-your parents are the King and Queen?" Hiccup stated rather then asked. "That make you a...a...pr...pr…" Hiccups brain had all but stopped working at this point as he stared at Merida who was blushing lightly from his gaze. "Aye. A princess." She said brushing a stray hair from her face.

Bonnlose perked up at the sight of Merida and fly over to her, wrapping affectionately around her. Merida smiled and petted the dragon. Fergus walked up to Hiccup and patted him on the shoulder. "I just want to say thank you my boy. For saving my daughter. You will be welcomed her with open arms anyday. Now, lets get this feast going." Fergus cheered as he turned and dragged Hiccup away. Hiccup was still stunned and didn't resist. His luck was definitely unexpected.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN***

**Hey everybody! Sorry for the wait. Domestic issues. Short chapter here. Hope to have the next one up soon but no promises. **

**R&R!**

Chapter 6

The Dragon Conquer

Fergus couldn't believe his luck. Out of all the strong, heroic vikings that inhabited berk, Stoick had to send him a fishbone. He wasn't even sure that this viking actual had a dragon, besides the blue one wrapped around his neck. But if Merida says he does, then he does. He simply wished that this viking would be more...well...viking like. It seems Stoick sent this boy to get killed here. In that case Stoick would use that as a reason to start another war. A small flame of rage ignited inside the kings heart. If Stoick really wanted to help he would have sent that famed dragon conquer.

'_It is said he stands seven feet tall. Arms as big as trees. His body covered in black armor. His dragon is the mightiest of all dragons. So mighty in fact, that vikings ran away in fear from the simple sight of such a creature. The Dragon Conquer fought on top of his mighty beast against the largest and deadliest dragon vikings have ever, and likely will ever face. Tis legend that the battle shook the very earth and ignited the sky into a flurry of flames. After the battle every viking strived to ride dragons as best as he could.'_

Fergus looked at Hiccup as he led him and a few guards towards the woods to retrieve his dragon. _'Apparently even this gangly lad has taken it upon himself to live up to him.'_ The physical description was _way_ off, but thats to be expected when vikings tell a legend. Fergus didn't dwell on those thoughts, instead he began to wonder how much help, if any, this viking could be. He glanced over to his beloved daughter who was chatting animatedly with Hiccup. The young man had just told her something that had her laughing and snorting as the two walked side by side.

"So you're telling me," Merida laughed out "that you had to eat a raw fish? And why didn't you rename him when you found out he did have teeth?" Hiccup nodded his head and rubbed the back of his neck.

With a chuckle he said, "Ya. He nearly bit my hand off grabbing the fish. But something about the name stuck you know? It clicked and I simply didn't want to take that away from us." Merida nodded her head in understanding, a large smile present on her face. Seeing that the topic was over, Merida quickly changed it to keep the conversation going. She couldn't explain it, but she didn't want it to end. "So what do you do at berk?" Merida asked looking over at him. She was curious to see a look of shock and worry become present on his face before being subdued by a casual expression.

Hiccup was surprised by the question and worried about telling them who he was. Stoick had told him to keep his identity a secret for safety reasons. He remembers that conversation quite well.

**FLASHBACK**

"_Hiccup." Stoick said placing a meaty hand on the young man's shoulder. Hiccup was just finishing packing when the large man stopped him. "Ya dad?" Hiccup asked standing up and turning to face his father. A look of concern was on Stoicks face as he stared at his son. "Hiccup. I'm not sure how the Scots are going to treat ya. We could only hope that they don't throw you in a dungeon when they spot ya. It's likely they'll know exactly who you are. Then again, it's likely they'll have no idea your my son and the dragon conquer. If thats the case son. Don't tell them who you are. Name and occupation as a blacksmith. Thats it. Nothing about you running the academy or killing the Red Death. Hel, I'd even make you ride a different dragon if it didn't make me feel better knowing you had Toothless." Hiccup stared wide eyed at his dad before an exception slipped into his thoughts. _

"_What if they are friendly dad? What if they don't mean me any harm? Could I tell them then?"_

_Stoick shook his head no. "If they don't know who you are theres no need to let them know. Its for you own good son." Hiccup nodded his head in understanding. He didn't mind not telling them. Heck, he'd prefer to get out of the spotlight for once._

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Hiccup wasn't one to be the certain of attention. Thirteen years of shunning does that to a person. At berk and the surrounding tribes he was expected to be the "Dragon Conquer" and any problem that arises with the dragons was to be blamed on him. He was put on a level that sets him in the spotlight and there was no way out. There was hardly anyway for him to simply be...well…Hiccup. The shy, stuttering screw up that makes mistakes and was entrusted with a dragon riding academy. He couldn't tell her, or any other person here, that he was the Dragon Conquer. Remembering what his dad told him to say, Hiccup spoke. "I'm a blacksmith. And when I'm not doing that I'm helping others with their dragon problems."

Merida was even more curious at this point. Why would they send him out by himself? She saw that he could obviously hold his own in a dragon fight, but surely there had to be some reason as to him being out here. She had the building suspicion he was lying to her. Before Merida could call him out on his lie though, Fergus spoke up. "A blacksmith eh? We could use one. Ours got injured after the latest raid and we could use a blacksmith. Mind giving us a hand?"

Merida and Hiccup looked back at Fergus who had now come to stand directly behind the pair. Hiccup shrugged his shoulders. "I guess so. What would you need me to do?" Hiccup was proficient in basically all aspects of smithing, but they didn't need to know that. One less thing they could use against him. Fergus perked up at the thought of having his forge back up and running. _'maybe this lad could be useful yet…'_ Fergus thought smiling. "We mostly need repairs on weapons. Them dragons sure take a toll on them. Thought we truly haven't been able to use them with the whole 'can't see them to fight them' issue." Hiccup nodded his head in understanding. Dragons took a huge toll out on weapons just by using fire and from what Hiccup just witnessed, they were going to take an even larger toll up close.

"Alright. I'll get to work as soon as we get back." A sharp snap stopped the group in their tracks. The guards around Fergus moved their hands to their swords, preparing for an ambush. Hiccup glanced around, looking for any sign of what made the noise. A soft smile came to his face when he noticed a pair of green eyes staring down at him from atop a tree. Merida followed his gaze and smiled at the black dragon. "It's alright. Its just his dragon." Merida said pointing towards the large animal. Fergus eyes widened as the large reptile slowly slide down the tree and sat behind Hiccup.

Toothless eyes narrowed at the unfamiliar people and a low growl escaped his mouth when the guards tightened their grip on their swords. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. He doesn't take too kindly to weapons." Hiccup said patting the top of Toothless head. Merida stood opposite of Hiccup and scratched Toothless head. The dragon purred softly at the attention and shifted focus from the guards to the large man standing in front of them.

Fergus was amazed at the beauty and strength of the dragon in front of him. Various scars covered the Night Furies body. Each one having their own unique tale. Fergus looked at Hiccup. A few scars on his face told corresponding stories. Fergus glanced at Toothless prosthetic tail then to Hiccups metal leg. By the looks of it, the fit perfectly together. A broad smile came to Fergus face. By the looks of it, Hiccup and his dragon had seen lots of action. Maybe this fishbone could truly help them.

"I expect you'll fly him back to the castle?" Fergus found himself asking. He wanted to see the pair in action. It wasn't everyday you see a human riding a dragon. Well, not in Scotland at least. Hiccup smiled and nodded his head yes. "I suppose so. Its about time for our afternoon flight. You should head back first though. Don't want to arrive without a heads up. Plus I need to scout the land out. Figure out where their nest is. I'll meet you back at the castle at dusk?" Hiccup asked already getting his bags together.

Fergus nodded his head. "Good idea. Should have brought along a map to show you everything." Fergus said. Merida brightened up at that.

"I could do that! I know the land better than any map." She looked hopefully at Hiccup, waiting for his approval first. Hiccup blinked in surprise and looked to Toothless for approval first. He was the one that was going to be carrying them. Toothless huffed a reply and Hiccup shrugged his shoulders. "As long as its ok with the King." Merida squealed happily before turning to face her dad. Fergus avoided eye contact and stared at his feet. "Uh. Merida. I...uh...think that won't be the...uh….best of ideas. We still don't no him, no offense Hiccup."

"None taken."

"And what would your mother say?" Fergus continued glancing up at his daughter. Bad move. Her big blue eyes were tearing up and she was sniffling slightly. Her pupils were wide giving her dad the puppy dog face.

"She'd say riding dragons was no place for a princess." Merida said sadly. "But how often would I get to ride a dragon da? I would be the first Scot in history to do so! Plllleeeaaassseee?" Merida begged. Her eyes were watering more and tears threatened to escape. Fergus did his best to avoid the pitiful look on his daughters face. He was a sucker for the puppy dog eyes and she knew it. "Please da? Pretty please?"

Fergus sighed in defeat. "Got your bow?" Merida nodded her head quickly yes. Hope swelling in her chest. Fergus sighed heavily again. Knowing full well he was going to be in trouble with his wife. "Fiiine." Merida squealed very loudly and hugged her dad. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you." She released him as quick as she hugged him and ran up to Hiccup. "Lets go!" She yelled happily ushering Hiccup to move faster. As if her father was going to change his mind at the last minute and by the look on his face, he would.

Hiccup jumped onto the saddle and hooked himself in. He reached down and assisted Merida in climbing up. Using a leftover piece of rope he tied her to the saddle. "Hold on tight now. Toothless like to show off." Hiccup said, already knowing that asking any less of the dragon was like asking Hiccup to win in arm wrestling against Stoic.

Merida wrapped her arms around Hiccup. A small shiver ran up his spine as Merida pressed herself firmly against him. "Ready?" Hiccup asked as Merida pressed her chin onto his shoulder. "Ready."

Hiccup smiled and patted Toothless on the neck. "Alright bud. Easy does it." Toothless rolled his eyes and spread his wings. Before Fergus could offer any protest, the trio were off in the air soaring high above. A joyous Merida screaming all the way.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N***

**Chapter 7 is up! Hope you all enjoy. This chapter is inspired by the trailer for HTTYD 2 and thought it would be interesting to write this. Just wanted to say that Sept. and Oct. are very busy around here and i can't really find time to write. Hope you enjoy this and please review so I could see how this story is doing.**

**R&R!**

Chapter 7

Free Fall

"YOU DID WHAT?" Elinor yelled standing up and dropping the book she was reading. The servants nearby stopped what they were doing and stared wide eyed at their Queen. It was rare, very, very, very rare to see Elinor raise her voice AND lose her composure. Queen Elinor was renowned for her cool head in the face of any obstacle. Heck, she walked right through a brawl between the clans and grabbed all the lords and her husband by the ears and led them out without giving anyone a single glance.

"I...uh...sorta...uh...well...let merida go off with the dragon rider…" Fergus said, mumbling his words towards the end. He hoped that his wife didn't hear him, but unfortunately she did. "HOW COULD YOU FERGUS?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO HER? WE DON'T _KNOW_ THIS PERSON! HE COULD KIDNAP HER! OR HE COULD…" Her voice grew quiet as small tears began to form under her eyes. Fergus immediately stood in front of Elinor and enveloped her in a hug.

Fergus hushed her soothingly and rubbed her back. "She's fine Elinor. Merida isn't going to let anything happen to her. Plus, I don't think Hiccup would do anything to harm her. Him and his dragon fought off the dragon to protect her. They could have kidnapped her then, but they didn't. I trust em Elinor. You should too." Elinor straightened up, the tears never escaping and gone from her eyes.

"You're right Fergus. I'm sure they'll be fine."

**WITH MERIDA & HICCUP**

"This is amazing Hiccup!" Merida screamed as Toothless rolled and shot upwards again. Hiccup and attempted to slow down the Night Fury, but seeing that Merida was enjoying herself, instead they decided to pick things up. "You haven't seen anything yet Merida!" Hiccup yelled above the roar of the wind. He leaned into Toothless and whispered into his ear. The Night Fury gurgled a happy reply and leveled out.

"So Merida, you know Toothless can't fly without me right?" Hiccup said casually glancing back at Merida. Merida raised an eyebrow at his tone. living with three troublesome brothers made it easy to detect when someone was planning something. Merida had known that Toothless lost a tailfin and in order to fly he would need someone to control it. She hesitantly nodded her head yes, unsure of how this was going to play out. Hiccups smiled broadly,though his helmet hid it, and began shifting positions of the tail fin. After a series of _clicks_ he pulled a lever and locked the pedal. He unclipped himself from toothless and spun around, now facing merida fully. "Ok now listen up. What ever you do, don't let go of Toothless. Ok?" Hiccup said, ensuring that Merida was secured to the saddle of Toothless.

"Hiccup? W-what are you doing?" Merida asked, eyes going wide as she noticed Hiccup was no longer flying Toothless. Hiccup tugged on the rope to triple check she wouldn't fall off. "You trust me?" He said staring at her. Their eyes locked and Merida knew they were full of good intention. She nodded her head yes without a second thought. "Good." And with that Hiccup rolled off the side. Merida screamed and looked over to see Hiccup free falling towards the ground. Toothless stared at Hiccup then looked over at Merida. He gestured with his head to hold on. She quickly complied and before she could say anything the dragon barrel rolled into a steep dive and was soon diving next to hiccup. Merida glanced over at Hiccup who was staring right back at her and waved. "HICCUP! GET BACK ON HERE!" Merida screamed, fearing that the young man would plummet to the earth and die. The ground become visible through the clouds as the trio lost more and more altitude.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and pulled a string on his leg. Hiccup spread his arms as a piece of leather unrolled that attached his arms and legs in a 'flying squirrel' fashion. Hiccup quickly stopped falling and zoomed up past Toothless and Merida who were still in a dive. Meridas eyes bulged out in surprise as she snapped her head back to stare at Hiccup. Toothless opened his wings up and forcibly slowed their dissent. In a few short seconds the pair were flying side by side.

Merida stared wide eyed at Hiccup as he pulled a string that deployed a fin on his back. Hiccup tucked his right arm in forcing him to roll twice before opening his arm again to stop the roll. Toothless mimicked the move and Merida couldn't help but notice the strong bond between the two. Merida felt the magic in the air as Hiccup and Toothless mimicked each others moves in perfect sync. "This is amazing!" Merida shouted, even more awed then she was a few short minutes ago.

"I know!" Hiccup shouted excitedly as both he and Toothless rolled again. Merida couldn't stop herself from giggling as she lost her self in the thrill of the ride.

The ground was still approaching them due to the fact Hiccup was gliding and not truly flying. Toothless dived down again and now flew below Hiccup. In a move that must have taken thousands of attempts, Toothless opened up his wings as Hiccup positioned himself to plop down onto the saddle. Hiccup was no sitting down in the saddle and hooking himself back in as he regained control over Toothless. Merida was left speechless by the move, at first she was expecting Hiccup to land on top of her or for her to impede him in some fashion. Yet he barely touched her when he landed on the saddle. There wasn't much room on it to begin with so this was truly remarkable for the pair to be so in sync with the other.

Hiccup unlatched the lock on Toothless pedal and shifted positions bringing the trio in a vertical climb. Leveling out, Hiccup removed his helmet to allow the cool wind to dry any sweat that accumulated on his forehead. He turned and smiled broadly at Merida who had a large smile on her face. "That was amazing Hiccup. Thank you so much." She leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek to show her appreciation, though others could argue this. Hiccup turned a light pink and faced away quickly to head his growing blush. "Uh...you're...uh..w-welcome." He stuttered as he fumbled to put his helmet back on.

Merida smiled and giggled lightly at the teen. Regaining his composure, Hiccup leaned forward. "Alright bud, lets head back." Toothless gurgled in approval before zooming off. Merida's hair was blown back as they rocketed past trees and hills. Zooming above Dunbroch, Hiccup circled twice before spotting a large clearing that would be perfect to land. The citizens of Dunbroch stared wide eyed as they saw the large black dragon zoomed by. The trademark whistling of a Night Fury had startled a few peasants and guards. Thankfully the guards had been pre warned and no one shot at them, they their were a few guards with twitchy fingers that had to be reassured they weren't under attack.

Landing softly, Hiccup unhooked himself and hopped off before turning and helping Merida out of the saddle. She happily accepted the assistance, but scolded him when he picked her up to get her down. A few guards appeared as they went to check on the new visitor and their princess.

**WITH QUEEN ELINOR AND KING FERGUS**

A low whistling noise drew the pairs attention from the planning for the feast. "What on earth?" Fergus said standing up and approaching the halls doors. A guard ran in and quickly bowed before the king. "Your highness! The black dragon you spoke of is hovering above us! They went to the fairgrounds to land." Before Fergus could reply Elinor was at his side and walking past him. "Lets go great them shall we?" She said glancing back at Fergus. Her eyes told him it wasn't a suggestion.

"O-of course! What a grand idea!" Fergus quickly caught up to her and together the pair left to great their daughter and the soon to be savior of their country.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N***

**Chapter 8 up and running! Glad you all are enjoying the story so far. Hoping to push it along with the character development here. Can't wait for the feedback. Until next time._  
_**

**R&R!**

Chapter 8

New Wardrobe

Hiccup stared in awe at the room in front of him. Queen Elinor had generously provided a lavish room for him and Toothless to reside in as long as they needed to. Hiccup placed a hand on the bed inspecting the mattress. He had a mattress. A _mattress._ Being the son of the chief of the most powerful viking tribes of the North Sea allowed Hiccup to enjoy certain..._luxuries_...that other vikings couldn't dream of. That wasn't saying much though, as Hiccup still slept on wood for a bed. The only comfort would be furs he placed under him, which was never because that would result in freezing to death. Uncomfortable bed or frostbitten toes? The choice was pretty obvious. Hiccup rolled his eyes and the thought and stared down at his prosthetic foot. Frost bites the last thing he wants.

His fingers gently stroked the soft silk fabrics that made up the bottom covers. _Silk._ Another luxury the viking was denied. Silk wasn't warm enough nor durable enough to last the brutal Berk winters, which took well over half the year. Silk wasn't practical, but that didn't mean it didn't feel nice. And boy did it feel nice. Hiccup had never touched something that felt so soft beneath his callused fingers. He wondered how it would feel if he simply laid down on it, _slept_ on it. The idea was halted when he looked his attire. Dirt stained his clothes and mud stuck in chunks to his boots. His hair was matted down from sweat and dirt and a few twigs clutched to his body. He dared not dirty that bed. He feared that he shouldn't even have the privilege of sleeping on something so exquisite.

His palm pressed down onto the bed and he felt the bed mold around his hand. It felt sooo soft and Hiccup couldn't believe how tired he actual was at that moment. Toothless had been given a giant "doggie mat" that involved furs that were extremely soft. 'No wonder Vikings raid this land so often. Its not like they can go without this stuff.' Hiccup thought as Toothless curled up on the furs and was instantly asleep.

A knock on the door grabbed his attention as a maid poked her head in. "Excuse me sir, but Queen Elinor requested me to bring ya a bath." The maid spoke politely. Hiccup flushed lightly, even the Queen had decided that Hiccup needed a bath.

"Oh. Well thank you. I was hoping to wash up before anything else." The maid smiled lightly and walked in, with three other maids behind her. They deposited the washtub and filled it with warm water. Once they finished their tasks they left, leaving Hiccup and the original maid behind. Hiccup began unfastening his straps and setting them down around him, he stopped short of removing his leg when he noticed the maid still standing there.

She smiled softly at him once again as he looked up at her. He flushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Uhh...I can't really...uh...you know...with...you...uh...in here." Hiccup stuttered, obviously embarrassed by the intense stare of the maid. The maids eyes widen in surprise at this statement. "Oh! Of course! My apologies. Its our custom to bathe our guests. I should have informed you sir." Hiccups light pink complexion turned a sun burnt red at the statement. "T-that w-won't be n-necessary." Hiccup said avoiding eye contact. Her face fell and she looked down at her feet. "I could get someone else if i do not...please you." She said sadly. Hiccups eyes bulged as he stared gaping at her. His brain was trying to put together a solid statement, but his mouth wouldn't listen and took off on its own accord. "I-its not that! I bet you'd please me all day!" The maids face flushed at the statement.

It took Hiccups brain half a second to register what he just said before his face contorted in horror. "I-I-I didn't mean it like that! Wha-what I-I-I meant was-was that I-uh-I-think it would be...appropriate for me to bathe myself." Hiccup said his brain finally managing to gain control. The smile returned to the maids face as she nodded her head. "As you wish, but I need your clothes." Hiccup clutched shirt and pants protectively. "Why?" He asked suspiciously.

"They need cleaned don't they? I'll bring you fresh clothes so don't worry about that." Hiccups suspses gaze didn't falter and he remained motionless. She sighed and folded her arms in an unladylike fashion. "Look. The princess has taken a liking to you and if you wanna see her AT ALL, you'll take off your clothes." Hiccups eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. That escalated quickly.

Seeing him still not budge the maid sighed. "Alright. I'll go out until you change then I'll come back and get the clothes. Got it?" Hiccup slowly nodded his head in agreement. The maid smiled and walked out the door. Toothless was staring intently at the maid, having woken up from the commotion. He looked over at Hiccup with a stoic expression. Hiccup glared at the dragon, who in turn made an awkward smile. "Oh whatever. No close your eyes too. And no peeking!" The Night Fury covered his eyes with his paws. After a few seconds he playfully peeked and was meet with a thrown pillow.

"I saw something that day, something I'll not forget. It stands twelve feet tall, with razor sharp claws. Its hide littered with the weapons of fallen warriors. Its face scarred with one dead eye." Fergus told, his hand pointing towards his eye. Hamish, Harris, and Hubert were dying of boredom from the tale. If something exciting didn't happen they were going to go mad. Merida was already sitting at the table so any hope of her surprisingly interjecting into the story was gone. Their only hope was- "Hiccup!" Merida yelled joyfully as the young lad came walking down the steps from a fresh bath. He looked very uncomfortable and Merida instantly knew why. Instead of his usual outfit he was left to wear a kilt that wrapped around his waist and around one of his shoulders, leaving his chest and legs bare.

The self-conscious viking was doing his best to ensure the kilt covered as much of his body as possible and was tugging it all around. Merida stopped in front of him, her hand covering her mouth as she suppressed a giggle. "If you keep tugging it'll fall right off." Merida warned. Her attempts to not laugh vanished as Hiccup instantly stopped fidgeting and moved his hands away from the kilt. Acting as if touching it could lead to the kilt falling off. Merida grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the dinner table.

Everyone present at the table smiled warmly as Hiccup sat down beside Merida. Merida quickly went to work fixing a plate for Hiccup and herself. "Try the haggis Hiccup." Merida said plopping a large sheeps stomach down in front of him. Hiccup looked up to see the worried expressions of Hamish, Harris, and Hubert as they all shook their head no when he poked it. "What is it?" He asked looking from them to Merida.

"Sheeps stomach." She said simply and took a bite out of turkey leg. Hiccup shrugged his shoulders and took a small chunk of haggis. They triplets eyes widened in horror as Hiccup bit down on it, chewed, and swallowed. Merida was taking a sip of mead when Hiccup swallowed. "So how was it?" Elinor asked glancing up from a stack of paper.

Hiccup smiled and took another bit and swallowed. "Really good. Alot better then regurgitated fish." In surprise, Merida sputtered out the mead she hadn't swallowed yet, spraying her brothers with the fermented liquid. Merida laughed and snorted as she rolled off her chair in complete ecstasy of the "joke" Hiccup just told. After a moment of silence from the triplets, they too burst into laughter. Elinor gave Hiccup and her kids a scolding look but didn't say anything else. Fergus on the other hand banged on the table and let out a hearty laugh. Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck and smiled awkwardly. He learned that day he could get used to this.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N***

**Thank you all so much for the reviews last chapter! I hate the late updates, but I have no time at all to write. I took some time editing this chapter, but I'm no English major (I'll leave that to you Ramofana). English has _never_ been my strong side and I simply write for the fun of writing. Weird right? I'll try my hardest to implement your suggestions Ramofana, but I can't help it if something slip past. ANYWAYS. On with the story!  
**

**R&R!**

Chapter 9

Gronckle Iron

Three days. Three days of constant patrols and Hiccup had nothing to show for it. He hasn't encountered a single dragon since his first day here. Not that he minded, but he was here to do a job, not to fly around and enjoy the scenery. Dragons were usually never this evasive, but Hiccup couldn't find a single trace of them. The only mark he found of them was the area they had fought in, but that only led him so far. The trail had gone cold and it didn't seem like warming up anytime soon. If he hadn't of personally encountered them he would have could the Scots liars about the dragon raids. Though that would probably spark another war.

Hiccup sighed and poured molten iron in a mold. Letting it cool, he popped open another mold that had already cooled. A shiny arrowhead fell out. Picking it up, Hiccup walked over to a spinning wheel and began sharpening the small arrow. He decided today would be a good day to work in the Smithy. A storm was approaching and it was a cardinal rule not to fly in storms. A boom of thunder rattled the small smithy. "OUCH!" Hiccup yelped. A small drip of blood pooled at the end of his index finger. Ignoring the blood, Hiccup brought the sharpened arrow head to his eyes and examined it carefully. Smiling proudly at his work he walked over to a stack of wooden poles with feathers on the end. Arrow shafts. Picking one, Hiccup attached the arrowhead and secured it tightly. He placed the freshly made arrow in a quiver filled with 20 or so other arrows. "She's going to love these." Hiccup said pulling one out and simply admiring it.

"Love what?" Hiccup yelped and dropped the arrow. Spinning swiftly he kicked the arrow under the table and away from view.

"Hi Merida! Fancy to see you here! Wh-what do I owe to this grand visit your highness?" Meridas eyes narrowed at the use of the title. She folded her arms and approached Hiccup slowly, deliberately staring him down. Hiccup fidgeted nervously as she approached him. He quickly repositioned himself so he covered the arrows from her view. "Whatcha hiding Hiccup?" Merida asked casually staring directly into his eyes. She learned this form of intimidation worked best.

"Hiding? Who said anything about hiding something?" Hiccup looked around the room. If he even _glanced_ at her he knew he would fold, and she knew it too.

"Sooo, why are you avoiding looking at me?"

"I am not." Hiccup stated defensively, whistling quietly as he stared up at the ceiling. "Just not familiar with my surrounding yet." She cocked her hip and placed a hand on it. She gave him a look that clearly read 'seriously'. Hiccup glanced at Merida, bad move. He was instantly trapped in her mesmerizing gaze and froze. The corner of Meridas twitched upward, she knew she won. Hiccup held her gaze for a few valiant seconds before folding. With a heavy sigh, Hiccup pulled out the quiver of arrows behind his back. "I was going to surprise you with them…" He said disappointedly. Merida stared wide eyed at the quiver and pulled one of the arrows out and examined it carefully. It was made of a metal she had never seen before. Touching it, she realized they were very light yet extremely sharp and unmalleable. "What kind of metal is this?" She asked inquisitively.

"Its called 'Gronkle Iron'. Same material my shield is made out of." She glanced towards the shield as it rested in the corner of the smith. It was infact made of the same material.

"I asked for some after the encounter with the dragon. Still need to decide a name by the way. Anyways, its the strongest material known on berk. My sword and your arrows couldn't even nik its skin last time. With these," At this Hiccup pulled out a medium sized sword with a strange word carved into it in norse. Having studied some norse, Merida picked out the word 'Endeavor' from the runes. "We'll be able to wound it enough for capture." Merida stared at the blade and then at the arrows. A wide smile spreading across her face. "This is amazing Hiccup! Thank you so much!"

She jumped up and latched onto Hiccup, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Hiccup carefully hugged her back, making sure the sharp blade and arrow didn't stab anyone. "Ah it was nothing. Got a few more to make though." Merida quickly let go, still smiling broadly. The pair had been nearly inseparable the past few days. Only Hiccups daily patrols and Meridas princessly duties separated them. Though neither has made any move to say anything. As far as the other knew they were simply being friendly towards one another. Hiccup turned around and returned the sword to its spot, still awaiting a good sharpening. He then walked over to the mold from earlier and removed the cooled arrowhead.

Spotting the shield, Merida picked it up and examined the large red dragon on the front. She judged its weight and was surprised at how light it really was. She turned it around and slipped her hand into the arm strap. Meridas finger brushed against a small lever and her curiosity grew. "Hey Hiccup. What does this lever do?" Hiccup turned and faced her.

"What lever?"

**WHAP!**

A large rope sprang from the shield and wrapped tightly around Hiccup. Merida yelped as the shield dragged her forward toward Hiccup. Hiccups' eyes widen in surprise and he stared into Meridas' deep blue eyes. Their noses' practically touching in this position. Meridas face was burned red as she stared up at Hiccup. "Uh...how do I…" Merida stuttered, flustered at the compromising position.

"Second switch from the one you pulled." Hiccup stated matter of factly, trying and failing to look anywhere but her. Merida complied and the ropes fell to the floor around their feet.

They both backed up from each other as soon as they were freed. Hiccup rubbed his neck as Merida rubbed her arms, both nervous as could be. "So…what did you come in here for?" Hiccup asked casually. Merida snapped out of her trance and looked up at Hiccup. "Well I was wondering if you'd want to go practice your sword fighting. Its been awhile since I've had a good challenge. My da tries but I've trained with him so long its an even match."

Hiccup smiled and nodded his head. "That sounds like fun. But its going to rain though" Merida rolled her eyes.

"That's what will make it so fun!"

A pair of red eyes followed the pair as they ran off towards the training fields. One of its eyes blinded by three claw marks.

Merida stopped pulling once they reached a small clearing behind the castle. King Fergus stood there waving his wooden sword at an invisible opponent. Noticing the pair he stopped mid strike and smiled. "Good evening Hiccup."

"Good evening your majesty." His eyes glanced downwards and he raised an eyebrow, noticing their interlocked fingers. Hiccup glanced downwards also and swiftly withdrew his hand. Merida lightly blushed and grabbed two wooden swords, tossing one to Hiccup and keeping the other. "Alright Haddock, show my dad what ye got." She stepped away, clearing the way for Fergus and Hiccup to spar. Before Hiccup could protest Fergus took a step forward and swung at him. Reacting on instinct, Hiccup parried the blow with a spin, dissipating the blow.

Hiccup blocked another blow before launching his own attack. Fergus had to give the lad credit, he was good. But was he good enough to beat him? Merida watched the sight with fascinated eyes. Each attack Hiccup made was precise and well timed. He never attacked when or where Fergus expected and was constantly spinning around the giant man. Fergus was spinning in circles as Hiccup weaved side to side in an attempt to get behind Fergus. Years of dragon training with Nadders has taught Hiccup that once you entered an opponents blind spot, they rarely recovered. Thats precisely what he was doing.

Hiccup could see the beads of sweat collecting on Fergus's brow. He was getting tired, they could all tell. With Hiccups stamina he could prolong the fight indefinitely. A boom of thunder echoed across the field as rain slowly began to cascade down. Merida glanced up as rain drops fell down upon the pair. Hiccup dashed forwards and made quick slashes at Fergus, who took a few steps Fergus moved to retaliate for the quick offensive, Hiccup slammed his elbow into Fergus exposed wrist. The wooden blade fell from Fergus hand and Hiccups blade rested under Fergus chin. Exhaling heavily, Hiccup withdrew the blade and smiled. "You're very good your majesty. I'm sure if these was real I would have been outmatched." Fergus laughed and patted him on the back.

"Great show boy! We'll have to drink to this! The only other person that could best me is Merida! And that was only after 12 years of sword practice!" Fergus boomed, wrapping a broad arm around Hiccup and leading him back towards the castle.

"Hey! I still have a duel with him!" Merida shouted as she ran up and stood in front of the pair. A boom of thunder echoed across the field and the King glanced upwards. "Not now sweety. Don't want to get hit by lightning." Hiccup glanced upwards and shuddered. An old memory arising.

"Ya. Not the funniest of things to experience." Fergus looked over at him confused. "Cardinal rule not to fly in thunderstorms. Learned that the hard way."

"You've been hit by lightning?" Fergus and Merida asked, both looking doubtful.

Hiccup nodded his head. "Big hazard when it comes to flying. Specially with a piece of metal attached to your leg and your dragons tail." Hiccup said, lifting up his prosthetic foot slightly. Fergus glanced down and nodded his head in understanding. Merida crossed her arms and pouted slightly. "You will owe me a duel then." She said, waving a finger in front of his face. Hiccup smiled and nodded his head.

"And I look forward to it your grace." Merida hid a smirk while they returned to the castle.

The day had progressed rather uneventfully. With their patrol schedule disrupted, Hiccup and Toothless were forced to endure the...inquisitive nature of Queen Elinor. Hiccup had rarely spoken to the Queen and realized that she was very, very perceptive and no unknown questions would remain unknown. "So what do you do at Berk?" The queen asked, taking a small bite of meat as the entire royal family and Hiccup sat down for dinner.

"I'm a blacksmith." Hiccup responded, after swallowing a piece of haggis. To which the triplets gagged and Harris past out.

"Why would Stoick send a blacksmith to a formerly hostile land?" Elinor asked, habitually wiping away any food carefully with a napkin, though there could hardly be a crumb on her mouth.

"The other ambassadors are busy and I volunteered." Hiccup shrugged. It was true, nearly all of Berks dragon riders were off on diplomatic missions to other tribes. It was just by sheer luck that Hiccup managed to take on this mission. The latest topic seemed to be the recent sighting of Roman ships in Viking territory.

"What do your parents think?"

"My dad actually liked the idea. Good for the family."

"And your mother?" Hiccups face fell, a question he knew would eventually pop up.

"Died when I was little." Merida and Elinor exchanged sympathetic glances.

"We're sorry to hear that."

"Occupational hazard." Hiccup said softly, like the term and been engraved into his soul. Hoping to brighten the mood, Fergus spoke.

"How about your foot?"

"Fergus!" Elinor hissed as her husband sunk back down.

"Now is not the time for that."

"It's ok your majesty. I'm used to it." Fergus perked up, he loved a good story.

"I can't tell you all the whole story, not yet. What I _can _tell you though, is that I lost it in a fight with a dragon."

A loud crash and scream interrupted Hiccup as Maudie came running out of the kitchen. A blue dragon chased her and hopped up onto her shoulder. A turkey leg hung from its mouth as the dragon jumped off onto Hamish head. It hopped onto Harris head next then Huberts' before landing on Hiccups head and wrapping protectively around him. "Bonnlose! Hey bud!" Hiccup said, unwrapping the dragon and scratching him affectionately below the chin. The Terrible Terror purred and cooed as Hiccup used his free hand to unlatch the letters the dragon was carrying.

Toothless, who had been laying lazily next to the hearth the majority of the day, was now sitting next to Hiccup and glaring disapprovingly at the small Terror. Hiccup stopped scratching Bonnlose as he began to read the updates from Berk. It wasn't good. Two messenger Terrors have gone missing. Both of which were communicating with riders in clans near the last known location of the Roman ships. Hiccups face fell further as he noticed that two more Terrible Terrors were dispatched and haven't returned.

Relations with the Lava Louts have been deteriorating steadily and it seems like another war would be inevitable. Typical. It had been less than a month since their last vendetta against each other. The only good news was that the Bog-Burglars have requested a dragon academy on their island. He knew that would happen eventually, Camicazi and Big-Boobied Bertha and taken a liking to the dragons and had insisted on being taught to fly them. If he didn't teach them soon they'll take matters into their own hands. Which would probably result in a few injuries, both dragon and human.

"What's wrong Hic'?" Merida asked, having been examining the variety of expressions Hiccup was exhibiting. With so many facial expressions in one letter, she knew most of it wasn't good. Hiccups head snapped upwards, momentarily forgetting they were there. "What was that?" Hiccup asked, having completely missed the question.

"What does the letter say?" Merida asked, slowly standing and beginning to walk towards him.

"Oh! Uh, just news on what's going on. A few problems that need to be worked out, but...uh...nothing major." Hiccup lied. Truth was this was a pretty serious matter and if it continued he would be recalled back to Berk.

Merida folded her arms and glared at Hiccup. Great. Round 2 here we go. Fergus scooted back slightly and Elinor glanced between Hiccup and Merida. "Why are you lying Hiccup?"

"Uh. Who said anything about lying?" Hiccup asked, staring down at his food and quickly shoving his mouth full. By this point Toothless and Bonnlose had returned to the Hearth and Hiccup was left at the mercy of Merida.

"Hiccup…" She took a slow walk around the table toward him. Hamish, Harris and Hubert glanced between the pair as they watched the events unfold. A loud roar interrupted her stride as the halls' doors flung open. A guard ran in, panting and fear-stricken. "DRAGON ATTACK!" Fergus and Hiccup immediately stood. Sharing a glance, Hiccup spoke first. "Your highness. Light the signals and get your archers to the walls. I'll take to the air and try to down one of them." Fergus nodded his head in agreement. He would have argued against someone ordering him, the _King,_ around, but now was not the time for that.

Hiccup ran towards Toothless, who was waiting impatiently at the door. With one swift motion, Hiccup clicked his foot in and secured his harness. "Hiccup wait!" Hiccup turned his head to see Merida running towards him. His shield and sword in hand with her bow and quiver strapped to her back and hip. She quickly handed him his weapons, which hiccup strapped to his back and side. Merida motioned to climb on, but was stopped by Hiccup. "No Merida. It's too dangerous. I haven't had enough experience fighting these dragons."

Merida placed her fists on her hips and glared daggers at him. "I'm going Hiccup."

"Uh...not the best of ideas Mer."

"I have arrows that could hurt them. I'm the best archer here and my usefulness will triple if I'm in the air." She said mounting Toothless, despite the protests from Hiccup and her mother.

"Merida! Get off that dragon now!" Elinor stated forcefully. Fergus remained quiet, knowing full well that when Merida put her mind to something it seldom changed.

"I can help mom! I really can!"

An explosion and screams muffled Elinor's reply. Sighing in resignation, Elinor spoke again. "Be careful." Merida smiled proudly and wrapped an arm around Hiccup.

"Always am."

"I swear nothing will happen to her your highness." Hiccup stated, placing a hand over his heart. A pledge on his life. Elinor nodded her head and prayed softly as Toothless bolted out the door towards the ongoing dragon raid.

**So, who's ready for the next chapter?**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N***

**Glad so many of you are ready for this chapter! Every review influences this story in some way. Specially since chapters are written after I see reviews from previous chapters. I'm not used to people seeing my work and I'm _constantly_ changing and expanding my writing style. **

** T-Biggz: I agree Hiccup needs to stand up for himself. But I think Merida simply has that affect on people. She's not really a person you could say no to right? And I try to do at least _some_ research when writing this. Just discovered the other day a map of the Barbarian archipelago of the HTTYD world. Awesome right? And the dragon is influenced from other dragons in the world and some simple "i wonder if it had..." ideas.  
**

** shimmer-snowflake: Thanks for all the love! I'm glad your really enjoying the story so far. I hope latter chapters will be able to have the same effect.**

** I'mafruitlooptoo: Hope you'll be ready for the next one too!**

** Comet Moon: Glad to be posting. Itching to get more chapters out faster, but simply don't have the time at the moment.**

** FalconFate: Love your view on the Romans. Lets see if we can keep an eye on them shall we? -insert foreshadow here-**

**Whelp****! R&R!**

Chapter 10

Raid

Merida prayed quietly as Toothless ran out into the castle's courtyard. Explosions rattled the castle walls and bowmen attempted to get to their posts. "Light the signals! Get the lights up in the air!" Fergus boomed, having been running right behind the pair. A few soldiers took the torches they were holding and through them into giant bowls of firewood. Igniting, the bowls lifted up into the air and illuminated the night sky. Hiccup cursed silently as he saw at least a dozen dragons circling the castle, occasionally dive bombing down for an attack or to snatch a helpless sheep or cow.

The good news was that he recognized all these dragons. A few Deadly Nadders, a Nightmare, three Gronckles, and a zippleback. "Wow….I've never seen so many dragons..." Merida whispered. Hiccup paid little attention as he scanned the skies. It was all wrong. Dragons were _never_ this organized during a raid. Usually they were fighting and bickering with each other, while clumsily trying to get food. They never timed their attacks from each other, ensuring that the defenders were never where they attacked. The only time he's seen a synchronized raid at this scale had to be five years ago, give or take, just before the battle with...with the red death… Hiccup pushed aside the rising bile in his stomach. Jumping to conclusions would get him, and more importantly Merida, killed. Bonnlose chirped beside him as the small dragon stared up at the skies.

Hiccup swallowed a lump in his throat and pulled a letter out of his satchel before tying the letter to the Terrible Terror as quickly as he could. "Bonnlose. If anything happens to me take this letter back to Berk. Understood?" The Terrible Terror nodded his head in acknowledgement. Smart dragon. "Keep an eye on the Queen alright." Again, the small dragon nodded. Without any further orders, the small dragon flew off back towards the safety of the hall.

"What was that?" Merida asked glancing between the fight and the entrance to the hall.

"Insurance policy. It'll inform Berk of the situation here. Incase I can't." Merida slowly nodded her head. A tight knot forming in her stomach.

"Lets hope that letter never needs to get sent."

"Agreed."

"First things first, we're going to herd them away from the castle. Don't shoot at them. You're arrows can and will kill them. Me and Toothless can easily handle this." Hiccup looked up to the sky again, carefully scanning the dark edges of the sky. Still no sign. "I need you to keep an eye for that new...well...new_er_ dragon. If it shows up I need to know right away."

Merida nodded her head in understanding and gripped tighter onto Hiccups leather belt as Toothless zoomed up into the sky. The ground swiftly dissipated beneath them. The warm glow of the signal torches dissipating as the icy grip of darkness consumed them. Hiccup leaned in as Toothless spun swiftly around, using his forward momentum to shift him into a dive. Merida felt her stomach lurch into her mouth and fought tooth and nail to push her recent dinner back into the abdomen.

A low whining noise drew her attention and she glanced around to locate the source of the noise. "Head down!" Hiccup hollered, leaning down to the point he was practically hugging Toothless's head. It was then that Merida realized that the soft screaming was actually emanating from Toothless. Merida buried her head into Hiccups back as the darkness light up in a purple flash. A loud scream of pain erupted from one of the Nadders that was in the middle of attacking a trio of guards. Toothless spun and circled back in less than ten seconds flat and released another plasma bolt. The Nadder withdrew and flew up and away from the battle. "Great job bud! Alright, lets get some altitude and reexamine the fight." A loud roar vibrated the air molecules around them and froze everything in its path.

"Hiccup! I see it! Down there in the tree line!" Merida shouted, pointing her finger at the edge of the fair grounds. Hiccup glanced downward and saw nothing. Glancing backward he saw Meridas face change to one of shock.

"It was right there Hiccup! I saw it!" Hiccup glanced at Toothless who was staring intently into the forest. By the expression on his face, the Night Fury hadn't seen anything either.

"Let's take a closer look bud." Hiccup said patting Toothless's head. Toothless grumbled in agreement and dived down towards the fair grounds.

Landing, Merida hopped off and arched an arrow in her bow. "Merida. Get back here!" Hiccup hissed, his voice low to conceal their position. Merida waved him off and examined the trees closely. She couldn't see anything in the darkness, though years of night hunting would allow her to easily pick up any disturbances in the tree line.

"Merida. Please, get back here." Hiccup pleaded, examining the tree line with hawk-like precision. Goosebumps riddled his arms and he could feel the hairs on his neck stand on edge. Toothless body tensed up as the Night Fury growled angrily. A rustle of the bush to their left caught their attention and Merida reflexively shot an arrow in the general direction. A medium sized doe sprang from the bush and ran away from them to the opposite side of the fair ground. Hiccup released a breath he didn't notice he was holding.

"See? Just a deer. Come on. Lets go."

"I didn't see a deer Hiccup! I saw a dragon!" Merida snapped, refusing to take her eyes off the tree line.

"Lets go Merida. The Castle is still under attack. We're wasting time here." Merida sighed in defeat. He was right, which she was coming to realize was surprisingly a lot. She turned around, her bow at her side and her shoulders slumped in defeat. Her gaze remained at her feet as she slowly made her way back towards Hiccup. A snap of a branch brought her gaze upwards. Meridas scream pierced the night as her eyes widened in horror.

Hiccup didn't have enough time to react as him and Toothless were violently whipped to their left. A loud crunch ringed in Hiccups ears as the pair slammed through trees before slamming into the ground. Hiccups eyes slowly opened and he closed them again, hoping that the world would stop spinning in circles. He motioned to get up and cried out. He touched his ribs and grimaced. Definitely bruised, maybe broken. Greeeat. He opened his eyes again and was greeted by a very, very, very angry dragon charging at him.

Hiccup rolled as a large mace slammed down on the ground. The soft grass vibrating violently at the shock wave. Hiccup saw his shield and immediately grabbed it. He held it outwards as the enraged dragon pushed the offensive. A large claw scratched his shield, sparks flew into the air as the dragon swung its mace-like tail once again. Hiccup had managed to stand up before the tip of the tail slammed into his shield. The Gronckle-Iron shield absorbed most of the blow, but the shear force sent Hiccup skidding across the ground. Again, Hiccup cried out in pain as his ribs slammed into a nearby tree. Hiccup rolled as fire spewed out towards him.

Merida pulled out her bow as quickly as she could. She notched an arrow and released. The arrow hit and stuck, but seemed to only irritate the dragon as it barreled down on Hiccup. Another arrow struck the dragons tail, throwing the large beast off on it's next strike. If she had been a fraction of a second slower the giant tail-hammer would have sliced the young viking in half. She didn't celebrate that small victory though as Hiccup slammed into a tree, crying out in pain. Merida released another arrow and it struck the dragon in its back. Fire bellowed from its mouth and consumed Hiccup from her view. Her stomach dropped to her feet as horrific belief hit her. Hiccup was dead. The scrawny viking who had _volunteered_ to help the highlands, Viking kinds sworn enemy, in their hour of need. Dead. Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead. She had only just begun to know the young man and already she knew life would never be the same.

Another arrow slammed into the dragon's neck and it roared in rage. Whilst Meridas mind had wandered, her body remained at the task at hand. The dragon turned swiftly and charged at Merida. Her blood ran cold as the dragon spewed a bluish fire towards her. The flames rolled towards her like a tidal wave. If her life wasn't endanger she could really enjoy the sight. How the flames seemed to roll over another as they pushed forward reminded her of the waves crashing against the shore of the lock. There really was no point in running. The open field provided no sanctuary from the flames. Merida wasn't one to run from a fight. She wouldn't be known for running from one now. She stared at the flames. At least she'll see something pretty before she dies.

Everything went black and warm just before the flames hit her. She thought death would be cold and unwelcoming. This was actually pretty comfortable. She felt somewhat constricted and was more then sure she should be in extreme pain at this moment. Abruptly the darkness lifted and she was meet by the piercing green eyes of a Night Fury.

"Toothless!" Merida cried and quickly grabbed onto the Night Furies head. Toothless purred softly and fully removed his wings from around her. His attention averting to the infuriated dragon. She glanced towards his saddle, expecting it to be empty. Instead she was greeted by the sight of a very familiar black-armoured viking.

Hiccup sat up from his hunched down position on Toothless' back. His black armor emitted smoke from being superheated. The cold scottish night did little to hinder the white steam as Hiccup glanced down at Merida. His helmet covered his face and steam bellowed from it. The life-saving shield glowed a molten red from taking the brunt of the flames.

Merida memorized every detail of the sight before her. It truly was a sight that songs were written about. Legends would be told of this man, if they already hadn't. Black-smith be damned. This man in front of her was a warrior. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Hiccup returned his gaze back towards the dragon as it slowly approached them. He leaned in towards Toothless and spoke softly, "Alright bud. Seems like this dragon doesn't like to fight in the air. Lets use that to our advantage." He looked once again to Merida. "Stay in the cover of the woods." Merida glared up and pointed her chin upwards.

"I will not hide!" Hiccup glared down at her. She wouldn't admit that she thought the sight was imposing...ok maybe a little.

"You'll do as I say or we'll both get killed." There was no hint of skepticism in his voice and she knew what he said to be true.

They had plenty of time to fight some other time. He'll pay for his small victory, not now though. She nodded her head in reluctant acceptance and retreated to the cover of the woods. Her bow remained at the ready and awaiting Hiccups signal.

The dragon charged towards them; a feral roar booming from its serrated jaw. Toothless lept into the air as the tail-hammer swept horizontally at them. A few trees exploded into splinters as the tail obliterated anything it touched. Toothless swiftly rolled and shot a plasma bolt into the dragons side, knocking the behemoth to its side. It didn't stay down long, and was on its feet and retreating towards the forest line.

"We can't let it reach the trees Toothless!" Hiccup hollered above the roar of winds. Toothless shot once again, this time the plasma bolt struck the side of the dragons head. The monstrous scottish dragon swung its head towards them and emitted a low, demonic growl. If they wanted a real fight, it'll give it to them. Wings as dark as an abyss spread forth as the dragon stood upon its hind legs. With a massive gust of wind, the dragon was airborne. "Aw Hel'," Hiccup groaned. The dragon plowing towards them was faster than a freight train.

"So! Remind me to keep this dragon on the ground!" Hiccup cried out, the dragon speeding towards them as the pair took evasive action. Keeping up with a Night Fury was a laborious work for any dragon and the closest that came were Nadders. Yet here he was, just barely staying out of biting range. Hiccup glanced back and was horrified to realize that the artificial tail was practicly tickling the demonic dragons mouth. "Toothless! We got to pick up the speed!" Toothless pumped his wings extra hard, yet what normally gained them tens of feet with other dragons only gave them mere inches.

An arrow of fire shot from the dragons mouth and slammed into Hiccups shoulder. Thank Odin his armor was built for this punishment. Though he wondered how compromised his armor had become now. He glanced down for a quick assessment. Good news seemed to have missed the memo of the battle today. The straps on his chest were charred and a few were now flapping in the wind. He could feel his chest plate shift unrestrained against his chest as another strap loosened. Loki must be playing some trick on him. No ones luck was this bad in battle.

Hiccups shoulder guard ripped off with a violent crack as another fire bolt slammed into it. The fabric beneath it immediately ignited and Hiccup did his best to pat down the flames. If he took another shot like that he'd lose his whole arm.

Hiccup looked back, hoping to have enough time to formulate some sort of plan. Hiccup's breath caught as he realized the dragon was gone. Vanished into thin air. "Toothless!" Hearing his rider's distressed call, Toothless glanced back and was also surprised by the sudden disappearance.

"Where'd it go?" Hiccup glanced around in frightened panic. Nothing was worse than losing the dragon you were currently fighting with. Hiccup glanced towards the fair grounds and could just spot out a tiny red flame. Hiccup realized, with growing horror, that it was not a small fire. It just so happened to be the uncontrollable hair of the Highland princess.

Hiccup swore fervently. Praying to every god he could think of in hopes that the dragon had decided it had had enough and not decided to pick an easier target.

**So? How was it? Is the dragon after Merida or has it really decided to cut its loses and fly off? All I got to say is that the next chapter adds more questions to the pile.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N***

**Sorry for the wait. But I just recently took the ACT and SAT so was a bit brain dead and didn't feel like writing. Also my birthday just recently passed so i was pulled away from the computer. **

**Hope you all en****joy the chapter!**

**R&R!**

Chapter 11

Mjolnir

Merida remained in the cover of the trees. Watching as the large dragon barreled down upon Hiccup and Toothless. She reached down to grab another arrow, her fingers brushing against open air. She looked at the quiver and her face fell. Empty. Merida dove to the ground as the trees in front of her exploded from the hammer-tail. She stood and watched as Toothless shot a plasma bolt into the dragons side. Screaming, the large dragon moved to retreat back into the forest.

Another blast and the dragon stopped dead in its tracks. A low growl escaping its maw as the dragon lept into the air. Merida watched in horror as the two dragons zoomed off. Toothless flying for his life, that.._monster_...flying to kill them.

After a few precious minutes of not hearing the fight, Merida stepped out of the protection the tree line had provided. She could see Hiccup and Toothless hovering mid air. No other dragon in sight. Where'd it go? She could see the pair returning towards her. Maybe they could explain what happened.

Toothless was flying as fast as he could. A light scream echoing behind them as Toothless built up speed, the trademark sign of an approaching Night Fury. Only a few more feet left. Toothless lurched to the side and Hiccup yelped in surprise. Thank Thor that Toothless managed to correct himself before they slammed into any trees. "What in Valhalla was that!" Hiccup yelled, quickly scanning to find out what happened. Toothless screeched as they were once again slammed to the side, this time they weren't so lucky. The ground was merciless as dirt cascaded around them from the force of their impact.

The splintering sound of wood echoed throughout the forest as a large tree slowly toppled over. To say Hiccup was disorientated would be the understatement of the century. His head felt heavy and his limbs weighed to much to lift. Not to mention that the entire world seemed to be upside down. With the snap of a branch, Hiccup lurched in a downwards motion. It was then that Hiccup realized that even though he heard the crash landing of a dragon, he hadn't personally landed. Hiccup glanced upwards towards the ground. He was caught in a tree alright. Hiccup groaned and looked down to see what had caught him.

His entire prosthetic was shoved into a comb of branches that had snared his prosthetic leg. By the looks of it, even if he managed to get free he wouldn't be able to walk on it. The wood had splintered in various places and wouldn't hold his weight, not to mention the spring was twisted and would take at least a day in the forge to reshape. The only way he was still be supported by the tree, he reasoned, was that the leather straps on his prosthetic had intertwined with the branches.

_**SNAP!**_

Well..._was_ being supported…

**MEANWHILE...**

Merida watched as Hiccup and Toothless were shoved to the side. She didn't see anything hit them, or even get near them. That was until the infamous duo were slammed downwards. She could have sworn she saw something, but as fast as it appeared it was gone. Ignoring the churning of her stomach, Merida threw caution to the wind and ran into the forest.

Following a trail of splintered branches, Merida stopped at the base of a large tree. Toothless laid sprawled out on the ground beneath it and moaned in pain. "Toothless!" She ran up to his head and kneeled down, cradling his massive head in her lap. The Night Fury's eyes were half open as his piercing green eyes stared up at her. With a small whimper, Toothless closed his eyes again. Merida looked from his head towards the rest of his body.

His right wing was bent and clearly broken. A bright red mark on his side seemed to be blood. Touching it, Merida felt the warm liquid slide off her fingers. Definitely blood. "Oh Toothless….what happened…" Merida said softly, comforting the dragon as much as she could. Merida felt her stomach knot as she gazed at the empty saddle on Toothless back.

"Where's Hiccup, Toothless?"

Toothless eyes opened once again and he glanced around. The pain he was experiencing had made him forget about his companion. Groaning, Toothless struggled to his feet. The pain was too much; with a cry, Toothless fell back down. "Toothless!" Merida wrapped her arms around his neck to comfort him and prevent him from getting back up. "Please, stay still. I'll go find him." Toothless wined softly and struggled for a second before stilling. Already exhausted.

Sensing that Toothless struggle was over, Merida gently stood up and checked her surroundings. The young viking couldn't have been far. He wouldn't have left Toothless side for anything, especially in his current condition.

_**SNAP!**_

Meridas head snapped backwards as she saw a figure fall from a tree and crash into the ground. Merida raced towards it, realizing that the figure had to of been Hiccup. The young viking hero laid on his back, his feet resting on the side of the tree. With a groan, Hiccup rolled and laid on his stomach. His neck felt stiff and his stump throbbed in pain as the blood returned to his legs.

"Hiccup!" His gaze lifted from the forest floor to be greeted by a flurry of red and blue.

"You crazy lamb! What are you doing up in a tree!?"

Hiccup rubbed his head and looked up, realizing his head was no resting in Meridas lap and she was looking down at him. "Ugh...just enjoying the view I guess…" Hiccup said sarcastically. "Wheres Toothless?"

"He's back there. I think his wings broken and he's bleeding from the side." Almost immediately, Hiccup was up on his feet, but the moment his left foot touched the ground the wood splintered and Hiccup fell towards the ground. Merida reacted quickly though and caught him. Glancing down, she noticed the irreparable state of the prosthetic. She helped Hiccup lean against the tree as he tried to catch his breath.

"What happened Hiccup?" He looked up at her blue eyes and shook his head.

"We got hit out of nowhere. I think it might be a changwing. Its the only thing I can think of that could surprise us like it did. Even then they don't pack _nearly _as much force as what we got hit with." Hiccups eyes lit up. "Unless…"

A low growl emanated from the tree off to their left. The large shape of a dragon came into view, as if it was made from the trees itself. Merida backed up a few to stand next to Hiccup, taken aback from the sudden appearance. The hammer on its tail thumped against the ground steadily. 'It can disappear. Just like a changewing. Dear Thor, why?' Hiccup's back pressed against the tree. They were defenseless. Hiccup stared at the tail, a name suddenly springing into mind.

"Mjolnir…" Hiccup whispered. Merida glanced at him.

"What?" Hiccup glanced towards Merida, realizing he had said that outloud.

"Mjolnir," He looked towards the dragon. "_'That which smashes'._ Born from the fires of Sindri and Brokkr during the creation of the infamous hammer. Everything in it's path is destroyed. Untrainable. Do not engage, do not run, do not hide. Your only hope is to pray for Thor's intervention." He again looked towards Merida. "Mjolnir. A fitting name for the killer of a princess and the heir to the Hairy Hooligans."

Meridas eyes widened at the statement. So he wasn't just a blacksmith. He was the son of Stoick the vast. Chief of the most powerful tribe in the barbaric archipelago. No wonder he was tight lip about himself. If the roles were reversed she would be doing the exact same thing. She couldn't help but feel a little hurt though, from being lied to.

Further thought was interrupted as a large hammer slammed into the head of the Mjolnir. "Hey you overgrown sack of Haggis! Leave my daughter alone!"

**So how was it? ****Looks like Hiccup isn't the only one ready to go head to head with a dragon. **


End file.
